Once Again
by Blackhawks8
Summary: The darkness within the Creator led to the revival of Hades, the Lord of the Underworld. He seeks to wreck havoc while holding a personal vendetta for the two angels and a goddess. However, a certain masked swordwoman assists in the fight. She remains concealed about herself until she unexpectedly opens up to a goddess as they learn about their own past and become closer from it.
1. His Return

**Hey everybody! This is a brand new Palutena x Lucina story (not the sequel to A Goddess and a Swordswoman). This story will contain events that happened in Kid Icarus Uprising, so if you haven't played the game or beaten it, I recommend avoiding this story for spoilers. However, if that does not bother you, then go ahead and read this story! I plan on making this story a much more serious story compared to A Goddess and a Swordswoman. Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 1

Another year of the fourth Super Smash Brothers tournament had come to an end. After many hard fought matches, only one came out victorious. The winner was none other than the Umbra Witch herself, Bayonetta. The championship match was between her and the Hylian Sheikah Sheik. After an intense battle of exchanging hits, the witch caught one of Sheik's aggressive approaches by her Witch Time, leading her to clinch the championship title. As she was awarded the gold medal and her trophy, Bayonetta waved her free hand to the crowd as a way of acknowledging her accomplishments. The season had ended, which would mean an offseason for the competitors to relax before the next season came around. Some Smashers were even preparing themselves to win the next year's competition while fans could not wait for another exciting year of Smash.

However, this was not the case.

A large, floating disembodied hand then took the center of the stadium catching the attention of every single person whether on stage, stadium, or the screens. The ceremony was not over until the Creator had conducted his speech. He was going to bring news that would disappoint everyone.

"Thank you to everyone who tuned into the 4th edition of Super Smash Brothers tournament," the crowd cheered vociferously as they just experienced another magnificent competitive Smash. "I am honored to have invited and hosted the mightiest and well-known fighters among each different universe. It truly has given me happiness to see various worlds come together for healthy competition. But alas, all good things must come to end."

Hearing the last words of Master Hand's statement engendered many people to talk amongst one another, wondering what the floating hand was talking about. Soon those sounds became worrisome.

"Many of you are wondering what I had meant just now," he clenched his fist, having a hard time to even admit this to the public. "This is not easy for me to disclose because this has been on my mind for some time now. This is the largest roster of fighters I've ever invited. I can never be certain if I'm able to break that point again. This, in turn, has caused me to suffer health issues. All of this stress has taken a toll on me. So, therefore, the conclusion of this tournament was the final Super Smash Brothers tournament I will host… for now."

A mix of reactions came from the crowd. Others were not pleased to hear their favorite fighters will no longer be in the Smash world ever again while the others understood where Master Hand came from and respected his decision. After the crowded talking superseded his voice, Master Hand unleashed a booming wave to silence the crowd for a moment.

"This is not easy for me to do. I must prioritize my own well-being over this competition. I do not know if I will ever return to hosting this kind of tournament again. My journey here has come to an end. I want all of you to understand and respect my decision for concluding the Super Smash Brothers tournament."

In the end, all had applauded Master Hand for tirelessly putting himself at work to satisfy everyone including the competitors as well.

That was it. Master Hand had closed the final page of his book.

* * *

This meant that all other competitors had several days left before returning to their worlds for the rest of their lives. They will cherish the memories of the people they had met in the tournament, and the times they spent together as companions, friends, family, and lovers.

The Smashers had lived in a tall and wide building resembling a resort. Each fighter lived in their own room for their privacy and independency. The resort was located in a hidden location away from the city of the Super Smash World. Master Hand had good reasons for doing so such as ensuring safety for all of his competitors. Each competitor had their own rooms with the living essentials. It was a relaxing home for them all to live in despite housing over fifty competitors.

Three competitors originated from Skyworld, a land where deities and angels lived together while overseeing the Earth to look over humans. One was a white angel who had risked his life to defeat Medusa and Hades who were rulers of the Underworld. During his journey, he met his doppelganger who was different from him in every way. His doppelganger had more of a tough guy attitude and represented the dark thoughts that the white angel kept within himself. Despite that, both angels worked together to save the world. In addition, he also had assistance from an emerald-haired goddess who had raised him his entire life. Through the tough times they both endured, Pit and Palutena needed each other due to their loyalty and devotion to each other.

Their time here in the Smash competition was near its end. They met and developed positive relationships with different people from different universes. Now that their competitive career was finished, it was time to return to their former lives back at Skyworld.

"You didn't have to come to my room to help me pack up, Pit," Palutena gave a warm smile as she watched her angel assist her in packing up her belongings. She intended on her doing it on her own but Pit insisted regardless.

"I know Lady Palutena," Pit acknowledged before turning to face his goddess. "It doesn't hurt though that I could lend a hand."

"You're so sweet," she cooed, prompting Pit to smile. "At least we're almost finished with my packing. Have you finished packing up your things, Pit?"

"Well," he sheepishly scratched the back of his brown hair while embarrassingly grinned. "I didn't."

"Why didn't you?"

"It was better if you finished up packing first before me."

"That's very kind and considerate of you, Pit," she graciously responded before walking to her angel and grabbing his right arm. "Let's not worry about me right now. We're going to finish up packing your things first. I can handle the rest of my belongings later."

"Yes, Lady Palutena," he obeyed before both of them exited out of Palutena's room and walked to Pit's room.

As they walked across the hall, there was a room at the end of the hallway. They reached the white angel's room. The room dimensions for all rooms in the resort were identical so that everyone got the same treatment. Turning at the intersection, Palutena and Pit ran into a mysterious individual who had blue hair and an armor similar to the Hero-King himself. However, this particular person wore a blue mask to hide their face. In addition, their hair appeared to be shorter with its length reaching only to the shoulders, but it seemed to be covered by his armor.

"Lucian," Palutena contently said to the individual. "Our apologies for bumping into you. We did not see you there."

"It is alright," Lucian responded with a deep yet soothing voice as if he was hiding something. "I also share the blame as I am in a rush to return home."

"That's a first," the goddess commented, surprised to hear that someone wanted to leave this world as soon as possible. "I was certain that almost everyone except the villains enjoyed their time here."

"My time spent here was for the competition. We all must return to our own universes eventually."

"I won't argue there."

"I sure will miss you fighting, Lucian," Pit said to the swordsman.

"You… will?" He confusingly asked.

"You fought well in this tournament," the white angel responded with a smile on his face. "I wish I could get to spar with you more."

"Despite fighting like Marth, your spirit shows otherwise," the green-haired woman politely added. "I sometimes confuse you with him."

"Thank you for your comments," the Ylissean did not know how to respond to such compliments. "I must carry on my tasks. Farewell."

Lucian then walked away from the two and disappeared from their sights once he was not seen.

"I wonder why Lucian never takes off his mask Lady Palutena," Pit said to his goddess, musing over what the swordsman's face looked like.

"I'll be honest," Palutena responded placing a finger on her chin to think about Pit's comment. "I'm just as curious about Lucian as you are."

"Even Robin doesn't want to talk about either," the tactician was willing to speak about it. However, Lucian requested his mother to not carry on such a task. "I wonder why he's so concealed to himself from others."

"During the years we've been here," the goddess agreed but was not able to identify the swordsman's identity. "No one knows other than his mother. Even if she is willing to disclose it, we must respect their choice to not to."

"Yeah, but I don't think it's best to hide everything about yourself from others who want to be friends with you."

"If only you were able to be the first one to be friends with him."

"If only."

"Great, not a day goes by where I always see one of you two," a voice that Palutena and Pit recognize walked up to them as he was walking to his room. It was convenient for all of them to meet again.

"Pittoo," Pit remarked as he greeted his doppelganger.

"I still don't want to hear that," Dark Pit felt irritated by the nickname he was given by Pit and Palutena ever since he existed. "Anyways, what are you two doing anyway?"

"Lady Palutena is helping me pack up to move back to Skyworld again."

"Hasn't it occurred to you two idiots that no one is moving out until a few days," the black angel was not surprised but was amused that Pit and Palutena were packing up early.

"Now, now Pittoo," the goddess intervened. "This is just preparations to move out soon. It's a terrible idea if Pit and I packed up at the last minute. We're only starting to pack up. You should follow our protocol."

"Thanks, but no," Dark Pit declined. "I'm going to pack when it's necessary. Right now, it's not."

"Well, what are you planning on doing for today?"

"Be by myself for some time, away from everyone for some time," he slowly walked away from the white angel and the goddess. "Whatever you do, do not follow me."

"Just don't go too far, Pittoo," Pit said to his doppelganger.

"You're still never going to get rid of that, won't you?"

"I'll let you roam around," Palutena reluctantly allowed the dark angel to fulfill his task. "However, when I communicate you through your laurel, I will tell you to come back and start packing for departure."

"Easy enough," Dark Pit then was out of their sight.

"Well there's Pittoo for ya," Pit said, feeling disappointed that Dark Pit was acting differently than how he was during their adventure together. "I wonder what's got into him."

"Let's deal with that later," Palutena said. "Right now, you need to pack up some things first."

"Yes, Lady Palutena," his expression changed to a more positive tone afterward.

* * *

In an ominous space of unknown darkness, it was only accessible by two floating hands that created the Super Smash World. At the mere center of the void, there seemed to be a veil of dark clouds surrounding a particular round object. The circular object had contrasting colors compared to the blackness of the void. The symbol on the core had resembled the logo of the Super Smash Brothers icon. There were a variety of colors but mostly to reflect the Master Core itself. Master Hand felt uneasy at himself but not at the core. He felt a strange urge inside of him. It felt like the dark emotions inside of himself were growing stronger until he could no longer seize control it.

"Bro," the floating left hand spoke. "Your stresses from work have caused you to feel disdain for people. I can help you. Don't do this."

"I understand, brother," Master Hand responded while keeping himself composed. "The work I've done for this has given me criticism and hatred from others who believe my work has been nothing but poor."

"That ain't true," Crazy Hand disagreed. "Don't listen to those who think that. Everyone else seems to be happy that this had happened. Even the competitors enjoyed meeting other worlds. There's nothing to lose here."

"Except 'everyone' doesn't feel the same way you're thinking," his finger slowly reached the core.

"Please don't do it."

"I need to transfer these negative emotions within me to the core. That way, I can no longer hold those feelings ever again until they come back."

"But the core will only grow stronger by your disdain and anger. Can't you see that this leads to nothing but chaos?"

"Tell me then, brother," he stopped as he was getting irked by the left hand's words. "What other options can you suggest that doesn't risk the Core and my own well-being?"

"I…" Crazy Hand could not formulate any potential solutions. He balled his hand and moved it down to concede defeat. "There's nothing I could think of to resolve this."

"I must not let these emotions take over me. Transferring part of my dark soul means the Core feeds off of it. The Core will then become corrupt, devastate this world and even kill our beloved invitees. I must find some other way. But what? If I kept these emotions, I'll be the cause of my own demise. There has to be a third option."

After a brief moment of silence, Crazy Hand thought of one idea. However, he was unsure if it was a good idea. The idea would prevent his brother and the Core's condition from exacerbating. It was a difficult choice because it also came with drawbacks. It would mean they needed Master Hand's negativity to be transferred to a host. Crazy Hand truly refused to see his brother hand becoming worse the more he continued to act this way.

"Brother…"

"What is it?"

"I… may have a solution to your condition without corrupting the Core itself."

"T-tell me then!"

"Touch that Core and create a host to transfer your negative emotions."

"Can that be possible? No current lifeform is capable of withstanding my powers," Master Hand was not going to agree with his brother's suggestion. However, there was more to it than he initially thought.

"Not a host who is alive right now," Crazy Hand sadly admitted. "What I mean 'create a host', I mean reviving a dead individual since all of your negativity will easily transfer through a corpse."

"Can I select any candidate? There are many deceased individuals across all worlds of the fighters that I've invited. Who is likely to cause the least catastrophe among these individuals?"

"You better choose a good one then."

"The only thing is that the Core doesn't allow me to choose who I can use as a host."

"Are you serious? Are we resorting to chance to prevent you and the Core from corruption?!" Crazy Hand was now having second thoughts of going through the plan. He then began to regret suggesting the idea because the Core could revive the most dangerous individual while containing the dark emotions of Master Hand. "Then let's just figure out something else, brother! We can't risk someone who can wreak havoc to everyone here."

"No, brother," Master Hand was not hesitant on carrying out his brother hand's proposal. "I know that our fighters can defeat our host. I rather have our competitors have a chance of winning rather than letting the creator and his Core get corrupted."

"If you're so sure of that, then go ahead," the left hand conceded defeat since nothing was going to change the right hand's mind. "I just hope our chances go in our favor."

"No matter the outcome, I believe in our competitors can defeat our host and the peace of our world will never be lost."

"…"

Master Hand then proceeded to touch the Core with his index finger. Once he did, his finger remained in contact with the Core.

"Master Core, here my call. For the safety of my well-being and the state of the Core itself, I offer a tribute. I shall offer up the negative emotions growing inside me in exchange to revive a deceased individual. I do not know who will you select as your candidate, but I wish to be one from one of our invited competitors' worlds. This is to ensure the maximum safety of our world. Master Core, accept my plea and rid myself from the corruption within myself!"

His offering was heard. The Master Core began resonating with the touch of Master Hand. Purple lighting started striking the area where Master Hand and the Core stood. Soon a surge of sharp pains had pulsated through the right hand. His entire hand became extremely stiff. As much as he wanted to pull back from the Core, he knew he could not. He had to power through the invigorating pain in order to alleviate his own internal suffering. Crazy Hand did his best to not interfere with his brother's ritual, no matter how much he desired to help his brother.

After enduring through the pain, the ritual had ended. As it ended, there was a bright flash that caused both hands to flinch and look away. The light then diminished, leaving both Master Hand and Crazy Hand to be disappointed that there appeared to be nothing.

"Did nothing happen?" Crazy Hand spoke after a brief of silence. He scanned around the area but there was nothing out of the ordinary. "I don't see anything."

"Brother," Master Hand said as his fingers were slowly regaining control. "The ritual worked."

"Did it?"

"The negative emotions inside me have diminished, rather weakened compared to before."

"If the ritual worked, then who did the Core revive?"

"Well, it looks like it didn't take me another 25 years to come back from the dead," a voice that echoed the ominous void surrounding them. "Now why would two floating gloves bring me back to life? What am I just some toy to you?"

"Of all people chosen, the Core chose you," the right floating hand said with his voice shaking at the sight of the revived host, regretting the chance that he took.

"I'm revived because this Core chose me for a reason. I, too, have some unfinished business to settle."

"Not if we stop you," Crazy Hand balled up his fist and charged at the revived villain.

"What are you going to do? Punch me in the face?" He humorously asked the obvious question before lazily stopping the left hand with his left palm.

"H-how?"

"Brother!" Master Hand quickly balled up into a fist and charged at the revived individual.

"This is getting rather boring," he repeated the same action to Master Hand as he did with Crazy Hand. "Don't you two see that is if you can? I hold part of the Creator's power within me. While I may have all of my powers before I died, I'm just as strong, if not stronger than you two."

"I don't follow," the left hand said in confusion.

"Brother," the right hand explained. "My negative emotions are a part of me. When they transferred to him through the Core, he carries not only that but also the powers I possess."

"That's some bull-"

Before they knew it, the revived individual unleashed a powerful black wave that sent them down to the ground, severely damaging their bodies.

"Where… is this power… coming from?" Crazy Hand grunted as he struggled to get up.

"It's a combination of my power and his power from the Underworld," Master Hand did his best to get up but also struggled due to the poor conditions they were in.

"Now if you'll excuse me," the individual turned away and made his own exit through a black portal. "I have some unfinished business to settle."

"You aren't going to take the Core?" Master Hand asked who was surprised to see that his host did not take the Core.

"Now that you mentioned it," he pretended to muse about taking the Core. "I could borrow the Core to help with my personal vendetta."

"Why did I-"

The host reached for the Core with his right hand. The pulsating reaction between him and the Core began shocking his body. What was peculiar was that he had no intention on stealing the Core. Instead, he was taking most of the power within the Core in order to make him stronger and potentially unstoppable.

"Ah, much better," the revived individual clenched his fists in pleasure before stepping closer to his portal. "Nothing is going to stop me… not even _him._ "

"Who are you referring to?" Master Hand inquired.

"Telling you wouldn't make this fun," his left palm produced a ball of darkness before throwing at the floating hands. "What makes it fun is seeing dead bodies…. everywhere!"

"Brother!" Crazy Hand managed to push his brother aside, dodging the attack.

"That spastic hand is driving me crazy," the host had the urge to kill him and shot a quick ray of black plasma at the left hand.

Crazy Hand was struck and lost all control of his body.

"Brother!" Master Hand floated to his brother who was unconscious and could not move. "You sick bastard! I'm going to-"

"Eat your soul," the host filled in the sentence that Master Hand was not going to say. The soul of Crazy Hand came out of his disembodied hand and drifted closer to the host who then threw it into the portal. "Happy soul hunting! I'm out!"

He disappeared after stepping inside the portal. Soon Master Hand was holding the corpse of his soulless brother.

"Brother," he spoke. "I'll get you back. I promise as your brother."

* * *

It was the final day before everyone was scheduled to return to their respective worlds. To make it a memorable one, all competitors decided to host an exclusive get-together in the city. The location was at a large hotel, which appeared to the biggest building in the city. No dress code was required. It was merely for everyone to come together and enjoy themselves.

Pit, Palutena, and Dark Pit decided to go since it was a final goodbye to all the friends they had made through the Smash competition. Upon entering inside, the venue was immensely vast, as wide as one could possibly imagine and as tall as one could think. Since it was an exclusive event for the competitors only, it created the illusion that the venue was larger than it seemed.

Time had passed since the event had occurred. Most competitors were present at the hotel while a few decided to not attend. Those people were likely at their resort just to relax. Dark Pit and Pit were together for the most part as they interacted with newcomers and veterans alike. Palutena, on the other hand, sat by herself just taking in the environment and relaxing before returning to her duties in Skyworld. However, several Smashers came up to her to mostly flirt with her. In the end, she knew their motives and turned them down without any hesitation. The ones who tried to flirt were male Smashers. All of them were not happy with the turnout and continued to persist. It was to a point where she had to threaten them to back off or else she'll vaporize them into nothingness. By doing that, they stopped harassing her. What helped lighten her mood was being accompanied by Princess Peach and Zelda.

"What a nerve for those guys to harass you after you declined their date," the pink princess said as she felt disgusted by their behavior. "It's a shame that some men are like that."

"They are human," Palutena answered back. "Humans are driven by their own desires and would do whatever it takes to achieve it means through immoral ways."

"I'm sure they learned their lesson," the Hylian princess added, hoping to see the good inside people.

"You haven't seen the Goddess of Nature from my world then," the goddess pointed out. "While I appreciate humanity, not everyone is pure. With the Goddess of Nature, she has a disdain for humans."

"I don't think she's met the right people to despise humans," Peach refuted before taking a sip of her tea.

"I'll gladly have you two engage in a nice conversation together," Palutena referred to the two princesses who then laughed from the goddess's comments.

Before Peach could say something in response, there was a terrifying rumble in the city, causing everyone to be concerned and afraid. No one knew what was engendering the earthquake or why it was happening.

"Where's Pit?" Palutena immediately said after getting up and was worried about her angel's well-being. "Pit? Pit!"

"Lady Palutena! I'm coming!" Her white angel ran to the table where the goddess was at. Once he was in front of her presence, Pit prepared to use Palutena's Bow if enemies were to appear. "Where is this earthquake coming from?"

"I don't know," she responded before preparing her staff and shield to defend any enemies that may appear. "I sense an unknown force approaching here at the venue."

"We'll defend this city from this monster, no matter who it is," Pit said with determination.

"You're gonna need some help with that," Dark Pit appeared from seemingly out of nowhere to join his doppelganger. "Now let's beat this monster and get a move on."

"Pit, Pittoo," Palutena communicated to her angels. "Be careful. Make sure everyone else is safe as well."

"Of course, Lady Palutena," Pit smiled and turned to face his goddess. "I'll also make sure you're safe as well."

"Well, if it's isn't Pitty Pat, Pittooty Too, and pretty Palutena," the revived host said in a menacing yet slightly comedic tone. He opened the roof of the hotel without any issues and stared at them. "Fancy meeting the three of you here."

Pit, Dark Pit, and Palutena froze in horror because the voice they heard sent them cold shivers down their backs. They thought Pit had defeated and killed him before, but now he came back with a vengeance.

"It can't be…" Palutena said in shock and horror.

"How is he alive?" Dark Pit asked, refusing to believe what he was seeing.

Pit coldly stared at the revived host while gripping his bow tighter.

"Hades."


	2. Unexpected Savior

Chapter 2

"Did you miss me, Pitty Pat?" Hades sinisterly deadpanned before he fired three shadow orbs at Pit, Dark Pit, and Palutena.

"Like we ever miss you, Hades," Pit indignantly shouted back as he managed to evade the Demon Lord's attack.

"Aw," he pretended to be hurt by the white angel's words. "I go away for years and this is the treatment I get for coming back?"

"This no time for jokes, Hades," Palutena shot reticles from her staff at the Lord of the Underworld.

Her attacks landed on him. However, it had no effect.

"Oh, ow," Hades continued to fake his injuries against his sworn enemies. He then surprised them by quickly shooting a powerful dark ray at the three. "That's no way to greet the Lord of the Underworld!"

All three barely escaped the unexpected attack Hades had casted on them. While they were occupying against their enemy, the other Smashers proceeded to join in the fight. Mario shot multiple fireballs along with his brother. Samus transformed into her Power Suit and shot several missiles from her Arm Cannon. Zelda had casted Din's Fire and directed it towards Hades. Diddy Kong used his Rocket Barrels to fly around and shoot peanuts at the demon. Rosalina conjured up galactic magic and threw it at Hades.

Despite the powers that other Smashers had, it was all rendered useless. Their expressions revealed shock as Hades felt like nothing had hurt him.

"Did you guys think those would hurt me?" Hades mocked the Smashers who decided to join in the fight. He then held his right index finger to generate a large orb of darkness. The trajectory of the magic was directed to the competitors. "You guys are like annoying little pests. Begone!"

The velocity of the attack was accelerating to a point where everyone inside the venue did not have enough time to escape on foot. All of them tried to escape, but they had the feeling that they were going to meet their end at the hands of the Lord of the Underworld.

However, right before Hades's magic struck the venue everyone inside had disappeared, escaping death at the last second. The demon had no clue that the Smashers had vanished from the venue. After his magic struck the venue, the building was vaporized from where it stood. It now was nothing but a burned graveyard. Hades saw that no one was in sight.

"Oh, look," he playfully acted like he defeated the heroes with no problem. "I've successfully killed everyone in Super Smash Brothers. Well, that's a disappointment, especially for Pitty Pat, Pitooty Too, and pretty Palutena. I guess they aren't that strong as I remembered, or I'm just too powerful."

The Smashers along with Pit, Dark Pit, and Palutena had teleported behind the giant demon. Once the sound of people landing onto the ground was heard, Hades turned back to see that everyone had escaped his attack.

"I'm not surprised to see that a goddess can teleport everyone," he smirked.

"I won't let you harm anyone, especially Pit," Palutena expressed a determined look, getting ready to take down Hades again. "We will all stop you from terrorizing this world."

"I would like to see you try," he challenged the goddess and the fighters to a battle before shooting blue orbs at everyone.

* * *

Mario, Luigi, Samus, Zelda, Link, Diddy Kong, Rosalina all retaliated by shooting their own projectiles to destroy the blue orbs that were targeting them. Pit and Dark Pit shot their arrows to eliminate Hades's projectiles. The Underworld Lord was not surprised to see that his attacks were easily being repelled. He merely chuckled. The Smashers did not realize that he was toying with them. Hades then shot the same orbs again, but this time the color appeared to be purple.

However, the Smashers except the angels attacked the purple orbs. Without realizing its effects, Pit tried to warn his companions about the purple orbs.

"Wait, guys!" Pit yelled, trying to warn his allies. "Don't attack those purple orbs! They'll-"

When their attacks collided with the purple projectiles, it engendered each purple orb to generate many smaller lighter spheres. Their attacks had backfired. Those little orbs then were directed to the Smashers who attacked. As a result, those fighters were struck with Hades's purple orbs.

Pit ran to his allies ready to defend himself. "Are you guys okay?"

"We're…fine," the Hylian princess got up, brushing off the counterattack as if it was nothing. "We weren't expecting that to happen."

"Only Pittoo, Lady Palutena, and I know Hades more than you guys," Pit unsheathed his bow blades. "He's from our world. I don't know how he's revived, but it's our duty to stop him."

"You'll need us to assist you then," Zelda added before conjuring up another magic spell to fight back.

"We'll need all the help to defeat Hades. I know we can do it," Pit remarked, feeling hopeful that this battle was going to be the only war.

"Oh, bore," Hades taunted at the heroes while rolling his eyes over. "Spare me the moment about the bonds of friendship. Right now, my priority is seeking revenge on you Pitty Pat."

"Why?" The white angel asked. "Is it because I defeated you?"

"Well, you're half right," Hades sinisterly replied. "There's more to that than just beating me."

"Explain yourself, Hades," Palutena commanded.

"That wouldn't be fun at all, beautiful," he attempted to flirt the goddess who then displayed a disgusted face. "Let's just say I've been revived."

"Who revived you?"

"Well," he then generated blue beams from the fingers of his right hand. In addition, Hades was able to control and move around his lasers at the fighters.

The Smashers all then managed to dodge the lasers that Hades tried to use. To retaliate, almost all of them shot their projectiles again. Nothing seemed to seriously damage the Lord of the Underworld. It was as if Hades seemed to be invincible to the heroes.

"How are our attacks have no effect on him?" Pit said, showing disbelief that Hades appeared to be more powerful than his last encounter.

"There's some hidden power just beyond his own," Palutena added, shooting several more reticles at the demon. "His own power alone compared to all of us should be no match. However…"

"Have you figured it out?" Hades asked as if he was curious about the emerald-haired goddess's assessment.

"I cannot say for sure where you're obtaining this power from in your state when you were revived."

"Let me give you another hint since my lasers didn't give it away," Hades then shaped his hand like a handgun and shot several missiles at the Smashers. Palutena reflected the attack with her barrier while Zelda summoned her Nayru's Love to deflect the projectiles. Mario stepped in to swipe his cape to reflect the missiles as well. The missiles were redirected at Hades who then embraced the attacks.

It was then that Palutena knew where the power was coming from based on the way his attacks resembled to a certain figure.

"You… obtained that power from Master Hand…"

Her conclusion had brought shock from the others, including Pit and Dark Pit. No one was bewildered by the words that the goddess said. It was clear based on the way Hades shot his lasers and missiles because Master Hand had those abilities.

"Bingo! We got a winner," Hades playfully remarked. "Your prize pretty Palutena… is death!"

Hades conjured up a dark, ominous ball before throwing at it to the goddess. Palutena, in response, produced a bright orb of light to counteract the darkness the demon created. Both attacks had collided between the middle of Hades and the Smashers. The collision caused the fighters to cover their eyes to prevent the debris from blinding their perception. Hades, unfazed by the collision smoke, threw out purple orbs at the fighters again.

Afraid of people getting hurt, Palutena commanded Pit and Dark to shoot their arrows and reticles at the purple orbs, knowing that those will break into smaller orbs and be redirected to them. It was a choice that they decided on their own. They tried their best to shield the oncoming projectiles. It never did.

* * *

A stream of fire had interrupted and incinerated all of the small orbs that were initially targeting the angels and the goddess. They were surprised to see that Hades's attack was repelled by a single fire spell. Everyone looked around to see where the magic was dispelled from. On their left, there was an individual who wore a black robe. This person's hair was white or sliver-like, but the individual did not appear to be old. It was a young woman who held a book of spells on her right hand while holding a sword on the other free hand.

"It looks like you guys need a hand," she spoke while maintaining her normal expression. "Allow me to assist."

"Any help is necessary, Robin," Palutena remarked.

"Good," Robin smiled before preparing to summon another spell. "Time to tip the scales."

The tactician conjured up another spell, this time with electric sparks emitting from it. Before she could release her attack, Hades lifted his right hand and slammed it onto Robin. However, Robin managed to evade the attack at the right moment before releasing her thunder spell. "Arcthunder!"

A stream of lightning was released from Robin's tome. The velocity of the spell was fast enough to strike Hades's body. The aftermath of the attack caused him to be stunned for a brief stint.

Palutena granted the Power of Flight to Pit and Dark Pit. The angels then flew towards Hades to shoot their arrows at him. They flew around the Underworld Lord in opposite directions in order to confuse him. As Hades attempted to swipe the angels, Pit and Dark Pit were ready to counterattack. The white angel wielded his Upperdash Arm while Dark Pit held his Electroshock Arm. Flying across from each other both angels flew towards Hades's face and struck him with their weapons. The goddess then had casted a bright veil of light onto Hades. She did everything she could in her power to eviscerate the Lord of the Underworld with her light.

"It's too bright out here," the demon laughed as if the attacks by Pit, Dark Pit, Palutena, and Robin were futile. He then released a powerful dark wave that caused everyone to be pushed back. "Let's dim the place a little bit."

"Even that, nothing works?!" Pit shouted in disbelief as he watched Hades brush off their attacks.

"Let me bring some friends while we're at it," Hades then opened up a dark portal and summoned up four different enemies that only Pit, Palutena, and Dark Pit recognized. They saw a myriad of Armins, Reapers, Belunkas, and Clubberskulls. "I'm sure you missed my pets since the last time we met."

"The Underworld Army is able to cross universes?" Palutena observed and questioned Hades's action. "Is this the true power of Master Hand?"

"I may have borrowed some power other than Master Hand's."

"What do you mean?" Robin inquired.

"He's the not the only one I acquired power," Hades then shot a mix of blue and purple orbs at everyone. "But it wouldn't be fun if I told you everything. Why don't you guys figure that out on your own?"

"Shoot the blue orbs only!" Pit commanded his allies who all listened to the angel's demand. He shot his arrows at the blue spheres while evading the purple ones before landing on the ground. While Pit managed to successfully hit the blue orbs, the white angel saw two Armins charging at him. He instinctively rolled to the side far enough to escape both of the plucked chicken's attack. The Armins then rammed into a wall, causing them to be stunned for a short amount of time. Pit ran towards them, shifted his bow into twin blades and struck back. The two monsters were easily defeated.

Belunkas flew around where the Smashers were fighting. They then surrounded where Pit's allies were. As they all opened their mouths to spawn monsters, Samus fired her Charge Shot, Zelda shot a light arrow, Peach threw a bomb-omb, and the Mario brothers shot numerous fireballs to critically damage the whale-like monsters. While the damage was strong, it was not enough to bring down the beasts. Soon they all deployed many circular one-eyed creatures. Being overwhelmed by the spawning of enemies, Dark Pit flew by them to shoot multiple arrows at the spawned enemies, killing them all in a single run.

"Hades is really starting to get on my nerves," the dark angel said before shooting an arrow at the demon.

"Come on now, Pitooty Too," he smirked, knowing that nicknames were going to set off Pit's doppelganger. "That's no way to treat your guest."

"That nickname is much worse than what Pit and Palutena call me," Dark Pit expressed aversion by Hades's nickname for the black angel.

"I'll admit," the goddess chimed into the conversation. "Hades's nickname to you is rather cringe-worthy than funny."

"You're not helping either, goddess," Dark Pit continued on his assault on Hades by shooting more arrows.

"Lady Palutena, let me help Pittoo," Pit said as he ran towards the Lord of the Underworld.

"You got it," the greenette was not hesitant on granting the Power of Flight to her angel.

Pit then flew alongside with his doppelganger to shoot multiple arrows at Hades hoping that he would take actual damage. While Hades was occupying with the angels, the others were busying themselves with Hades's Underworld Army. The Smashers brought down the Belunkas, which took a bit of time and effort to fell those creatures. The next set of enemies they had to fight was Clubberskulls. They were large, horned skull enemies bounded by blue chains with its one eye seen at its heart. Clubberskulls were in their calm state as they were walking towards the Smashers.

"Whatever you do, do not attack them," Palutena warned her allies as she was still focused on guiding her Power of Flight on Pit. "They will become aggressive if-"

Mario had engaged in close combat against one of the Clubberskulls. The minute the red plumber began fighting, the monster had let out a massive roar causing Mario to stop attacking due to the shockwave emitted from it. That Clubberskull's heart immensely grew, breaking the skull that encapsulated it and revealing its massive physique. Showing no fear, Mario controlled the fire on his right fist before jumping at his foe. The monster then spun its body, blocking not only Mario's attack but also striking him continuously. The plumber was sent back to one of the sidewalks behind where his allies were.

"Now that Mario has awakened one of the Clubberskulls," the goddess said as the rest of the monsters transformed into their active state. "They all become berserk."

The Smashers had no other choice to attack to minimize casualties. Peach picked up and threw multiple turnips to keep the monsters from coming to her. Zelda had casted several Din's Fire to burn them. However, the damage was little as those Clubberskulls charged at the Hylian to stomp on her. Unfortunately for them, Samus stood in front of Zelda while shooting blasts of plasma at her enemies, pushing them back further. Once the monsters were pushed back, Luigi swooped in to shoot several fireballs before charging himself at him. He then launched himself at the Clubberskulls, known as his Green Missile, to send them back further. However, while the enemies were hit, it barely sent them back. Mario's brother was on the ground. Seeing the monsters prepared to mercilessly stomp on him until he could feel nothing caused him to be in state of petrification.

"Luigi!" Peach screamed his name as she tried to run to save him.

Then a large, cylindrical cast of magic struck through all of the Clubberskulls, sending them further away to ensure Luigi's safety.

"It's a good thing I saved up Thoron," Robin said as she ran towards the green plumber along with the Mushroom Kingdom princess as well. "Otherwise, he would have suffered grave injuries."

"Luigi, are you okay?" Peach asked him.

He simply nodded still a bit shaken from witnessing gigantic enemies that stood over him waiting to brutally injure him.

"Can you still fight?" Robin asked.

Luigi nodded since he still wanted to help out the others even it meant it was scaring him. He then stood up and was ready to fight again.

However, more enemies appeared, including Clubberskulls.

"You got to be kidding me," the tactician complained as she unsheathed her Levin Sword. "There's too many here."

As the angels were taking on Hades themselves, Pit noticed that there were many enemies attacking his allies. He then communicated Palutena through his laurel. "Lady Palutena, I need to help out the others down there."

"We have to stop Hades, Pit," she responded since she believed that the Lord of the Underworld was much bigger threat to this world. "That's our priority right now."

"I know but," he responded, feeling shaken by what he wanted to do. "I don't want the others to get hurt by Hades's monsters. Pittoo and I can help out."

"What's this?" Hades playfully asked the angels he was fighting. Although they were shooting arrows, Hades appeared to be unfazed by their attacks. "Pitty Pat wants to save his friends and not fight me? Am I not strong enough for you?"

"I defeated you before, and I can do it again," Pit shouted in response before firing another arrow at his head. He then talked to his goddess again. "Please, Lady Palutena, let me help the others!"

"Alright, we'll help them out," Palutena agreed to Pit's demand before flying Pit and Dark Pit towards their allies.

The Smashers were holding up on their own except the Clubberskulls and Reapers who were aggressive and ruthless against the fighters. Luckily, they all managed to come away with moderate damage. Robin released another magic spell, Thoron, to eliminate the first wave of Clubberskulls they fought. Some Repears were killed. The second wave of Clubberskulls was tough since they were persistent and difficult to kill. They still fought with their best.

"Almost there!" Pit shouted as he was ready to use his bow to strike Hades's Army.

"Did you forget something?" Hades asked Pit who had a confused look on his face.

"Don't play tricks on me, Hades!"

"Oh, that's too bad," he laughed at Pit who then was irritated by his demeanor. Hades then fired two dark missiles from his right hand but was not targeting at the angels. "Too bad you can't save your goddess."

He realized who Hades was referring to.

"Lady Palutena!" Pit screamed his goddess's name once he comprehended that she was vulnerable to an attack. He tried to fire the missiles with his arrows, but he barely missed. The projectiles were getting closer and closer to the emerald-haired goddess before there was a collision. Pit was worried that Palutena was severely hurt or suffered even worse conditions.

"I'm not that vulnerable when I use the Power of Flight," Palutena smirked as she managed to deflect the attack with her reflective barrier.

Pit had a sigh of relief since he saw that Palutena was just fine. He was not going to worry as he was flying towards his allies for assistance.

However, Hades merely laughed for some unknown reason.

"What's so funny, Hades?" Pit said to the demon.

"Oh, nothing," he teased. "It's just funny how pretty Palutena here says she's not that vulnerable."

They were bewildered by his statement. However, that soon became a horror as a Reaper slowly sneaked up behind Palutena and swung his scythe.

"AAAHHH!"

"Lady Palute-" the white angel was unable to fly anymore as the Power of Flight was disrupted between the goddess and her angel. Because Pit lost his ability to fly, Dark Pit also fell from the air as well.

Palutena was on the ground, suffering a wound from a Reaper's deadly weapon. As she tried to get up, the same Reaper was already in front of her, positioned to swing his deadly scythe across her body.

"Noooo!" Pit tried to reach out his arm, but he was too far from her. He closed his eyes to hide the sight of Palutena getting killed by a Reaper.

But then…

* * *

A mysterious figure appeared out of nowhere, ran towards the Reaper, and blocked the attack with his own weapon. Palutena looked at who had saved her. It was a swordsman who wore a blue armor with short blue hair. The greenette noticed the weapon. It was the Parallel Falchion, completely different from the Hero-King's weapon.

"Lucian," the goddess was glad to see that he came in just in time.

"No time for that," he said trying to hold off the brute strength of the Reaper against his own. "Help!"

Palutena got up and pointed her staff at the Reaper to emit a powerful fire magic. "Explosive flame!"

Pit landed on the ground, coughing up the debris before standing up to see where he was. The first thing he did was turning back to see if Palutena was okay. He was happy to see that the masked swordsman had saved her at the last moment.

"Thanks for saving me, Lucian," the goddess gave her gratitude to the masked swordfighter.

"I'm glad that I came here just in time," he simply responded without a change in his expression. Lucian then gripped his Falchion horizontally, preparing to finish the battle. "The battle isn't finished. We must end this."

"I couldn't agree more," Palutena firmly held her staff before both of them headed towards their allies to assist them.

"This is getting rather boring," Hades said as he was watching the battle before silently yawning. "Right now, I don't have a firm plan on my hands. I'll just be on my way and do that. Hades, out!"

Just like that, Hades disappeared from where he stood while the monsters he summoned remained to attack the Smashers. Pit, Palutena, and Dark Pit noticed that his figure had vanished. While the thought was present in their minds, they had to deal with the monsters first.

Pit and Dark Pit assisted with the Smashers in fighting against Clubberskulls who were extremely hostile as they aggressively attacked anything in their paths. One of the monsters was spinning itself towards the white angel who kept his distance by shooting his arrows. Right as the enemy was about to strike Pit, Dark Pit leaped at the Clubberskull and cleanly kicked its face. As a result by the force of Dark Pit's kick, that Clubberskull was defeated.

"And _that's_ how you kill a Clubberskull," he boasted before aiming at another Clubberskull that was occupying against Samus with his Silver Bow.

"Nice one, Pittoo," Pit cheered for his doppelganger.

"The name sucks but Hades's nickname is much worse," he twitched his head at the sound of hearing two nicknames of him.

"There are still more Clubberskulls. We got to finish them off," Pit then ran towards Peach and Zelda who were handling one of them.

Dark Pit said nothing and tried to lend a hand. However, an Armin and a Clubberskull trapped him where he was. He smirked. "Just you two? It's not even a fair fight for you two."

Peach and Zelda were evading the spinning attacks that their Clubberskull tried to do many times. Once there was an opening, Zelda shot one of her Light Arrows which temporarily paralyzed the monster. This was their cue to strike back. Peach swung with her frying pan multiple times right on the monster's legs. The Hylian unsheathed her sword to pierce through the enemy's body. To her surprise, a Reaper snuck up behind her and swung its scythe at her. She reacted to its presence and attempted to block the attack with her sword. However, the collision between both metals engendered Zelda to disarm her weapon and fall onto the ground. The Reaper was ready to slash Zelda's body in two with his scythe.

Then an arrow pierced through the Reaper's body. It turned to see who had shot him and saw the white angel who then broke his bow into twin blades. The Reaper then panicked and its red eyes began glowing brightly. It then rushed towards Pit and attempted to viciously slash him. Pit rolled under the Reaper to escape its attacks. Although he was safe for a quick moment, the monster turned back and rushed again. However, it was met with Zelda's Light Arrow, right through its face. The arrow stunned the Reaper for a short moment. Pit and Zelda wielded their metallic weapons and continuously struck their foe until its body dissipated. The Hylian suddenly realized that Peach was left alone to fight the Clubberskull by herself. Turning back, they witnessed the princess throw a bomb-omb at the Clubberskull, causing the monster to be incinerated. Their eyes were widened by how Peach managed to pull out a bomb-omb so quickly and defeated a Clubberskull.

"What?" Peach asked innocently as she smiled at her allies. "That monster was about to kill me. I just happened to pull a bomb-omb and threw it at him."

The angel and the Hylian simply chuckled by Peach's calm response. After their quick moment together, they turned to assist other Smashers in fighting off part of the Underworld Army.

Meanwhile, Palutena and Lucian were occupied with the remaining Reapers. There were only four Reapers left who were panicking and hostile towards the goddess. As a result, they all rushed towards Palutena in order to wail their scythes at her. The goddess waved her staff and shot three columns of light at the Reapers. Once they were knocked back, Palutena raised her blue shield to charge her light powers. After fully charging her shield, she released a bright wave of light to blind the Reapers. During their blinded state, Lucian charged at the remaining monsters and slashed each Reaper with his Parallel Falchion. When he delivered his last strike at one of the monsters, Palutena then conjured up balls of light just above her. They were in a horizontal position and simultaneously fired them all at once. Once the first wave was a success, she fired six more orbs to deal more damage. The masked swordsman turned back to swiftly thrust each enemy with her sword. With the last Reaper, Lucian positioned his weapon vertically in front of him before running at the Reaper. He then swung his Falchion in an upward diagonal arc to deliver a mighty blow. That was it. The entire Underworld Army that Hades summoned at the venue was defeated.

The damage to the city had its toll. However, it could have been worse had the Lord of the Underworld stayed longer and tried to devastate the city. After the coast was clear, the Smashers rejoiced together.

"Lady Palutena," Pit called to his goddess. "I thought you were almost hurt there for a second, but I knew you were going to be alright."

"Thanks to Lucian here who saved me from that Reaper," Palutena gave her thanks to the masked swordsman. "The battle would have been different had you not come to our aid."

"Thank you," he replied while maintaining his composure. "I saw a dark presence as I was taking a breath of fresh air outside of the resort. It was then that I had to run to the city to help you all."

"I'm glad that we managed to save the city from Hades," Pit said before his face expressed discontent after mentioning the Lord of the Underworld's name. "Although, he vanished during the battle."

"Well, my son," Robin chimed in as she smiled at her swordsman. "I'm glad you came at the right time."

"Mother," Lucian responded with a slight smile.

"Lucian," the goddess asked with curiosity on her tone. "May I ask who you are?"

"I'm sorry," he immediately refuted. "I cannot reveal my identity to you. I've done enough for today, Goddess Palutena."

"Why not?"

"With all due respect, I ask you to respect my choice."

Palutena nodded to accept the fact that Lucian was not likely to ever disclose his identity despite her curiosity.

"I'm sorry about my son," Robin apologized. "There are some things that happened to him that he prefers to conceal to himself from others."

"I understand," the greenette answered. "I just would like to know him more since he saved me from a Reaper."

Lucian lowered his head, feeling a bit awkward that Palutena wanted to get to know him more. It felt uncomfortable to him.

"But I must ask something to you two," the tactician turned her face to Pit and Palutena with a serious expression. "Who is Hades?"

Palutena and Pit looked and nodded at each other before revealing everything about the Lord of the Underworld.


	3. Explanations

**Another chapter finished. Although I have other projects, this one is one of my priorities to work. But I'll do my best to even my projects out. Read and enjoy! :)**

* * *

Chapter 3

In the distant space, far from the city, there was a comet too far to reach for one's own hands. As it was reaching closer and closer to anyone who would arrive, the scenery then shifted to the view of two objects: one resembling the planet Earth while the other was the Sun. There was this illusion that the Earth and the Sun were rotating upside-down around the flat stage of this secret area. It then began to rotate faster until a bright light flashed before skies appeared. It looked like one had reached Earth while the blue skies shone at the land terrains. However, it was ephemeral as those blue skies were covered with clouds. Soon the same motion just like the Earth and Sun was shown again until everything seen by the eyes of a living being had faded into blackness. The cycle continued to repeat itself until no one was present. This was the Final Destination.

A mysterious figure then arrived at this area.

"Ah, here's a nice place to rest up for a bit," Hades then fisted his right hand, released its tension, and clenched it again. "While the Master Core's power is great, I shouldn't use too much of it right after I stole its power. My powers are unstable at the moment. It's a good thing I left the battle early instead of mindlessly creating more monsters for my army."

His memory against the Smashers in the city was vivid. Hades remembered being able to oversee the battle after he had disappeared. Upon watching the fight, he saw that his monsters were no match against the Smashers. Hardly any of his monsters had put up a fight against them all with the exception of one Reaper attacking Palutena. However, that was due to his deception and command of that Reaper to attack by surprise. Because Lucian saved her, the outcome of that battle was already decided from there. Rather than feeling displeased with the result, he merely chuckled at the thought.

"My priorities right now are getting some rest and harness this new power. It's a lot more when I was alive. Although…" he smirked as he created dark flames on his right hand. "I'm capable of handling its strength. After all, I do hold Master Hand's power, which makes it much easier to control it once I've regained my lost strength."

Hades stood at the center of Final Destination for some time before contemplating about his plan. Something strange then was resonating within him. Part of his revenge had to do with Pit, Dark Pit, and Palutena who had defeated him during his reign of terror some time ago. That was his emotions alone. The other part inside him was not his own feelings. It was something else. Whatever it was, it was taking over his mind and heart. Rather, it was slowly becoming a part of him as well. Once the thought was plaguing his mind, Hades felt a surge of pain rushing through his head. He fell onto his knees and placed his hands on the sides of his head. Grunts of pain were heard from the Lord of the Underworld. It was becoming stronger and more painful as the thought was appearing to be more vivid and real. A scream of agony was heard from Hades who was unable to handle the excruciating pain he was enduring. It did not seem like it was going to end.

But it did.

His headache disappeared. Once the feeling was gone, Hades stood up staring at his hands intently. An odd, ominous vibe could be sensed by the demon. Opening his closed eyes, Hades had a menacing expression that felt peculiar and disturbing. It did not appear to be Hades entirely. He seemed like he was another person. It was like his body actually had two spirits inside him.

"I'll surely have my revenge against Pitty Pat, Pittooty Too, and pretty Palutena," Hades said before clenching his fist again. His voice became darker. "I cannot forgive the citizens of the Smash world for being ungrateful of my work. They all must be punished. By what… death? Apocalypse? Whatever it takes to silence those voices."

* * *

At the city, Pit and Palutena had to explain to Robin along with several allies about the Lord of the Underworld, Hades. It was not as much of curiosity by their friends; it was more as necessary information to learn about the demon that attacked the Smash City.

"Hades," the goddess spoke up first as she was ready to disclose everything she and Pit knew about him. "He is the Lord of the Underworld from our universe. Hades is one of the most powerful beings known in our world. At first, when we heard of Medusa's return, Pit and I had to stop her. If you must know, Medusa once ruled Skyworld with me many years back."

"I see," Robin responded who was intrigued to learn more about their history. "Who's Medusa?"

"She was the Goddess of Darkness who ruled alongside with me in Skyworld. However, she no longer does anymore."

"What happened?"

"Her hatred for humanity was where I drew the line. She went as far as to petrify them and destroy their food supply. As a result, I transformed her into a cyclops and banished her to the Underworld."

"Medusa then gathered the Underworld Army and invaded Skyworld to overthrow Lady Palutena's throne," Pit added. "She entrusted me with a bow and the power to fly in order to defeat Medusa and save Lady Palutena."

"You were trapped in her dungeon," the goddess clarified. "However, you managed to escape and rescue the Three Sacred Treasures as well."

"What does Medusa have to with Hades?" The tactician was confused about the relevance of the Goddess of Darkness. "Is she part of Hades's revival?"

"As Hades would ever make her a puppet ever again," the dark angel intervened as he walked towards the group.

"Who are you?" Robin asked with interest of the dark angel. She then realized who he was. "Hold on, you're Pit's doppelganger if I'm not mistaken."

"Yeah, that's me," he coldly remarked.

"So…"

"So what?"

"Could you explain what you meant earlier?" Robin inquired who tried to use her hands to emphasize her point.

"I'm not the one who is explaining about Hades or Medusa," Dark Pit responded who then crossed his arms.

"That's very inconsiderate and rude for you to talk to my mother like that," Lucian defensively told back at the dark angel.

"Says you," he refuted. "You're the one who hides your past to anyone. If you don't want to say something, then why should I?"

"Because it's important information to learn about Hades," the masked swordsman grunted who was not going to take Dark Pit's words kindly.

"Both of you stop bickering," the mage commanded her son and the dark angel to cease arguing. Her expression revealed that she disliked this sort of conversation. "I can't go without a day of hearing bickering from someone. Let's focus on the topic at hand."

"He started it," Dark Pit defended himself as he crossed his arms.

"I did not," Lucian made a rebuttal while keeping his composure. "My mother asked a question, and rather than saying no, you made a rude response instead."

"That's enough!" Palutena shouted to silence the tension in the air. "Pittoo, apologize to Lucian right now."

"Why me?" He complained.

"Also apologize to Robin for your rude comment."

"Lucian is the one who started the bickering," he continued on.

"Pittoo," hearing that name made Dark Pit's head twitch. The goddess was assertive. "Lucian isn't the one who made a condescending response to Robin. I ask you to apologize right now."

"Fine," he was not going to argue at all and conceded. His eyes were facing diagonally from where he was supposed to see. "I'm sorry, Robin and Lucian, for being rude to you two."

"Apology accepted," the masked swordsman forgave the dark angel's apology.

"I forgive you, _angel_ ," she slightly smirked to poke fun at Dark Pit who did not understand why she called him that. Robin then became serious. "Anyways, I want you to clarify by your statement earlier?"

"If you must know," the black angel began. "Hades revived Medusa when she supposedly came back after being dead for decades."

"Decades?" Lucian was surprised to hear the time since Medusa was killed. "Then… Lady Palutena, ma'am, you must be old and you as well Pit, sir."

"Sir?" Pit scratched his head in confusion since he was not used to hearing that.

"Did you just call me ma'am?" Palutena became upset to hear that term being directed towards her. "Are you trying to start something?"

"Oh, no," Pit's expression soon turned into a worried frown. "You shouldn't have said that."

"I apologize," Lucian immediately regretted ever asking that question. He gritted his teeth and looked down in embarrassment. "I stepped over a boundary that I shouldn't have crossed."

"It's fine," she took a deep breath after accepting the masked swordsman's apology. "I just don't like being called that. Never call me that."

"Now that we're back on track," Robin's eyes were slightly widened before placing her right finger under her chin to muse about Hades and Medusa. "So Hades then revived Medusa to do his dirty work."

"That's right," Palutena confirmed. "Hades is a sinister, manipulative, and cruel god who doesn't stop at toying around with souls for his own pleasure."

"It doesn't seem like he's the kind of menacing demon I would've expected," the tactician furrowed her eyes due to the fact that her interaction with Hades was contrasting with how Palutena was describing him. "The way he was talking to you guys and us, it doesn't seem like it."

"He may act like he's a funny guy," Pit chimed in. "But he's a vile god who has no sympathy for any living beings or souls. Don't let his humor get to you. It may seem like he's a joke, but Hades is far stronger than you think."

"Hades must be taken seriously," Palutena said as she flicked her hair to straighten it out. "Any reckless action amongst ourselves will be of great detriment to us."

"I agree," Robin firmly said. "But before we proceed any further, what is Hades capable of?"

"He is capable of manipulating souls," the sound of Hades's ability made her express anxiety. Robin was concerned at hearing such information. "In doing so, Hades can revive the dead or even create new monsters."

"That's horrifying," the tactician responded as she expressed disgust by hearing that.

"There's more," the goddess unfortunately said. "He would go far as to eat souls in order to regenerate any part of his body that was ripped apart. It also increases his strength to greater heights."

"What kind of god eats the souls of innocent lives?" Lucian blurted out, expressing such repulsion that the Lord of the Underworld would do such a thing.

"Given that this is how Hades was back then," Palutena knew that things were only going to get worse from here. "His power is likely to be much stronger comparing him back then to now."

"How so?" Pit wondered before realizing what his goddess meant.

"Hades obtained power from Master Hand himself along with some unknown power he also possesses," Palutena, at this point, was concerned about the potentially deadly threat that the demon lord could be. "Who knows how strong he could be?"

"I will explain your questions," a voice was heard not coming from the group. However, the Smashers all knew who that voice belonged to. They turned to see a large, floating disembodied hand floating towards them.

* * *

"Master Hand?" Pit was surprised to see that the floating right hand appeared before him. "I thought Hades took your powers and killed you?"

"He did not," the hand reassured before slightly clenching his fingers from the events that occurred between him and Hades. "I'm sure many of you have questions to ask pertaining to Hades."

"Yes," Palutena said first. "Why is Hades revived? How did he get your powers?"

"What you all are about to hear will upset you," the Creator said, which confused and worried everyone in the group.

"Why did you say that?" Robin inquired who was becoming slightly afraid to hear Master Hand's explanation.

"I shall explain this with some backstory," the right hand began. "The final tournament had already concluded. All of you were set to return home for good in several days. However, something else happened."

"What do you mean? Did someone revive Hades?"

"Someone _did_ revive him," his tone shifted to regret and melancholy, which was an indicator to certain Smashers that they knew who the culprit was. "That someone… is me."

The silence was all the Smashers had reacted to the shocking revelation that they just heard. Of all the people who were likely to pull off this scheme like Bowser and Ganondorf, no one expected the Creator to revive one of the most powerful gods known in Pit's world. Master Hand knew that his competitors were in disbelief that he did such a task. He regretted his actions but at the same time, he felt it was necessary to do it. The goddess was not pleased to hear such news.

"I expected more from the Creator of this world to ever revive such a vile individual," Palutena reprimanded Master Hand for his actions. "Do you have any idea what he is capable of? He's an extremely dangerous monster who will kill anyone for his enjoyment!"

"I understand your frustration," the right hand calmly responded who still felt remorse for his actions.

"Lady Palutena," Pit tried to reach his hand out for his goddess. "Please don't get-"

"Pit!" She shouted at her angel. It was not in a condescending tone; it was more of a firm stance to not interfere. "This is a serious matter at hand. I only want to know why you revived Hades. What was your motive?"

"This is much worse than I anticipated," the tactician quietly said as she became apprehensive about the situation at hand.

"Mother," her son worriedly said to her. "What are we up against?"

"I can't say for sure," she responded as calmly as she could before smiling. "But I know that we can change our future together. We've done it before. We can do it again."

"You're right, Mother," Lucian smiled, giving her faith that hope will never die. He then turned to the greenette. "Lady Palutena…"

"Yes, Lucian?" Palutena was surprised to hear that the masked individual had called her.

"I understand your worries about Hades," the swordsman then smiled to glimmer hope. "We will defeat him at all costs and save our futures together."

"Thank you," the goddess smiled. "It's nice to hear from you since you don't talk much."

"Master Hand," Pit asked the Creator. "Why did you bring back Hades to life?"

"It was not intentional," he stated.

"What do you mean by that?" Palutena inquired as she did not believe his story just yet.

"I must be honest by my word," Master Hand loosened up the tension of his fingers before explaining his story. "I have not been happy with how these tournaments have been."

Everyone was bewildered by his statement. Master Hand, in his farewell announcement, he said he was pleased running a tournament with fighters across different universes. It was contradictory to what he was saying right now.

"The reason is that people have been giving me so much harsh criticism due to who was selected to be in the competition. Not only that, my work has been seen as poor because it did not meet the so-called standards by the people. It soon spread to rumors about who did I invite to the competition and ruining the exciting surprise that I had in store. I soon then received threats and hatred amongst those people," he was becoming shaken by the reminiscent thoughts of his negative emotions. "It was eating inside me as I tried implementing more content, doubling my work schedule, and sacrificing my well-being to please my people. In the end, they were still not happy. They wanted more fighters to join, more tournaments, and more content for people to enjoy themselves in a form of entertainment. I… could not take it anymore. My stresses had taken over my health, and I developed hatred and abhorrence for this competition and its people."

Hearing his stresses caused the Smashers to feel sympathy for their Creator. He had worked countless hours to invite competitors, develop housing for them all, produce quality entertainment, and manage the entire tournament under his own work. Most of them felt guilty for making Master Hand become this way. They believed that they contributed to the degradation of their Creator's health. Palutena, on the other hand, was still skeptical by the floating hand's reasons.

"I do feel terrible that you went through that. What does all that have to do with the revival of Hades?"

Robin was a bit irked to hear the goddess's response. She thought that the greenette was unsympathetic and too focused on the Demon Lord's return. However, she shrugged off the feeling because she thought she may have misinterpreted her response.

"I could not handle my negative emotions anymore because if I continued to feel this way, it was going to lead me into a dangerous path. As a result, I believed that I should transfer those emotions to the Master Core. The problem was that by doing so, the Master Core would suffer the negative emotions I had and become corrupted. I had no other option at that time. That is until my brother suggested another possible solution."

"What was that solution?" Robin asked.

"He said to create a host within the Master Core and transfer my negative emotions. The problem was that I can't just create any host. The Master Core will randomly revive a deceased individual from one of your universes in hopes of minimizing casualties. I took a chance to do this option because it would prevent the Master Core and me from becoming corrupt. However, our chances had not fallen into our favor. The host revived was the individual you all already encountered, Hades."

"You had no other choice then," the tactician concluded after listening to Master Hand's explanation. "I can't say you were in the wrong. You were only trying to look after yourself and the very fabric of this world."

"Thank you for understanding, Robin," the right hand felt better because someone felt sympathetic to his situation. However, he felt melancholy, which everyone saw.

"What's wrong, Master Hand?" Pit asked his Creator. "It's isn't your fault that this happened."

"I know," he responded. "There's more after Hades was revived."

"More?"

"Hades attacked us. What made things worse was that my brother…" the images of Crazy Hand was difficult for him to disclose. "He… took the soul of my brother and threw it into some vortex and disappeared."

There was silence again. Shock and disbelief radiated from all the Smashers who could not believe that Hades killed Crazy Hand, or rather ripped his soul away. Palutena felt horrible at hearing the story and to herself for being skeptical of Master Hand's actions. Hearing the death of a family member and a loved one had hit her hard after remembering the events with her and Pit. Lucian grunted because he, too, was empathetic of the feeling of losing a family member and a loved one.

"Master Hand," the masked swordsman said, wanting to express her empathy for the Creator.

"Do not feel empathy for me," he responded calmly. "It's my responsibility to rescue my brother and save him at all costs. I ask of you all to defeat the monstrosity I had revived and save not just this world but also your world as well."

All of the Smashers nodded to acknowledge Master Hand's request. No one was going to object him because they understood that he wanted to save his brother on his own. He would seek assistance if he needed to. Other than that, it was his mission to right the wrong he believed he committed.

"Master Hand," Palutena spoke to the Creator. "I want to apologize for being skeptical of you and your actions."

"You have every right to be upset at me, Goddess Palutena," Master Hand understood her frustration since Hades caused havoc to her, Pit, and Dark Pit in their universe. "I know you all are capable of defeating Hades. I am concerned about him holding more power than he had previously."

"Hades did say he 'borrowed' more power besides you," the goddess said, air-quoting the word borrowed. "What did he mean by that?"

"Oh, I'm sure _I_ can explain that to you, pretty Palutena," the voice that everyone recognized. They all were prepared to attack with their weapons or magic should anything happen. Hades had returned, but this time he was not in his physical form. His larger appearance was his astral form as he stood behind the mountains, overseeing the city and its people.

* * *

"Hades," Pit coldly said as he held Palutena's Bow firmly on his right hand.

"Pitty Pat," Hades talked him down as if he was nothing.

"Hades," the white angel's doppelganger shouted while pointing his Silver Bow at the demon. "I'm going to kill you!"

"Pitooty Too," he also made the same tone as to Pit.

"You're already pissing me off," Dark Pit growled as he tried to withhold his frustration with the nicknames.

"Explain yourself, Hades," the goddess demanded as she stood in front of the group.

"I'll only tell if you give me a kiss," Hades smirked, prompting the greenette to be repulsed by his offer.

"You're disgusting," Palutena felt like she was going to vomit after hearing his deal.

"Is there a relationship between Lady Palutena and Hades?" Lucian asked since listening to the conversation made him muse.

"Lucian," his mother quietly responded. "I don't think that's an appropriate question to ask the goddess."

"How so?"

"She clearly despises him, and Hades is just a psycho."

"Hades has disrupted the natural balance of our world, so why would I ever like him in that sense?" Palutena asked the masked swordsman in a slightly upsetting tone.

"I apologize," Lucian felt bad for asking such a question. "I did not mean to upset you at all. I was insinuating based on your conversation."

"I know you didn't mean it," the goddess said before smiling at him. "Don't worry about that. Right now, let's focus on Hades."

"He's taken the power from the Master Core," Master Hand blurted out since Hades was toying with the heroes.

"No…" Palutena felt a sudden chill inside herself after hearing the terrible information the Creator had said.

"Does that mean…" Robin added before being interrupted.

"The glove there did ruin my surprise," Hades revealed before attempting to summon monsters. "You guys are lucky that I'm not there to fight."

"But you're here," the tactician said while being confused by what she was seeing.

"Hades, like myself," the goddess clarified, "can appear in astral form while watching the entire battle from a distant location."

"Interesting," Robin admittedly was amazed by the power that the gods had in Palutena's world. "Can he attack us directly?"

"He cannot," the greenette confirmed, which the group felt a sigh of relief. "However, he can summon monsters due to the powers he obtained from Master Hand and the Master Core."

"While the Master Core's power does give me additional power," Hades said as he balled his right hand into a fist and then loosening it repeatedly. "I haven't reached the peak of its limit yet. While I'm resting in a nice cozy place, I think it is fun to see you all struggle against my pathetic minions."

"Here it comes," Master Hand said as he was ready to fight alongside with his competitors.

A swarm of enemies spawned from both the ground and in the air. The fighters saw four different types of enemies, but this time none of them were exactly the ones that the Smashers fought earlier. One was an oyster-like creature that was flying towards the group with its tiny leaf-like wings. The next enemy did not fly towards the fighters. Instead, they were scattered across the vicinity of where they stood. Its large ears, resembling wings were covering its face. The creature had three eyes, two of which were large while the third was in the middle and looked smaller. The last two monsters were similar to each other. One was a gelatinous creature with three pink-red spheres inside its clear body. Vein-like fibers were connecting the sphere and to its skin with two mandibles at the bottom of its body. Its counterpart was cellular, meaning that its body could not easily be seen through. Its red area was the only thing they could distinguish. Three of the four monsters were attacking the fighters in Pit's group while the others were invading the other Smashers across the city.

"Be careful everyone," Master Hand told his Smashers who were ready to fight alongside with their Creator.

"These enemies fight differently than the others," Pit said to his allies.

"Pit's right," Palutena added. "Don't fight any of them on your own. We must fight together."

"This battle isn't going to be easy."

Hades's assault continues again.


	4. The Great Reaper's Return

**Another chapter finished. A bit longer than previous chapters. Read and enjoy! :)**

* * *

Chapter 4

The Komaytos, both normal and cellular, slowly approached the fighters. Samus shot several spheres of plasma at them while Zelda had cast Din's Fire towards them as well. Their projectiles had contacted against the Komaytos. Despite the power of their attacks, the gelatinous creatures continued to float towards the bounty hunter and the Hylian princess, shocking both women that their attacks were rendered ineffective.

"My Din's Fire had no effect on them?" Zelda shouted as she attempted to use her magic again.

"That's unusual," Samus said as she shot one missile from her cannon arm and directed it towards a cellular Komayto.

"Ranged attacks won't work on them!" Pit shouted as he ran towards the gelatinous monsters. "You have to beat them down melee style."

"Pit!" The brunette ran towards him for assistance. "Be careful!"

The white angel held the twin blades as firm as he could. One of the normal Komaytos floated towards Pit to suck the life force out of him. However, he rolled forward to escape its attempted grab before striking back. He lunged and slashed his target in a crisscross motion. As it was in stun, Pit continued swinging his weapon. His left hand swung diagonally downward while his right hand swung diagonally upward. He repeated the motion until the Komayto was defeated. Right as that monster was gone, several Komaytos flew towards him. Without their knowledge, Zelda wielded her rapier and had thrust through one cellular Komayto. She repeated the attack three more times before killing it. A few of them then shifted their attention to the Hylian and followed her.

"As long as you attack, you'll be fine," Pit said to Zelda before changing his blades into the bow form. He then jumped at two cellular Komaytos and performed a series of buzzsaw-like slashes. It was not enough to take them down. As he landed on the ground, Pit knew that the enemies he just attacked were behind him. When they were close enough, the white angel turned around and roundhouse kicked both monsters. He then lunged at the two enemies and struck the two Komaytos with one blade targeting one enemy and vice versa. That was enough to defeat the two cellular Komaytos.

Meanwhile, Zelda fought two regular Komaytos. With her sword gripping her right hand, the brunette was ready to fight when the opportunity presented itself. When she heard Pit's advice against these creatures, she responded, "Acknowledged." Once the two gelatinous monsters were close to her, Zelda swung her rapier horizontally, causing them to be in a stun for a brief stint. She did her best to swiftly slash her blade in a horizontal and diagonally upward motion until one of them was taken down. One Komayto was killed as a result. The other one managed to escape before flying in to attach its mandibles onto the Hylian princess's head. However, Zelda leaped towards the creature to deliver a powerful magically-infused kick right onto its gelatinous skin. The power of her magic engendered her enemy to dissolve into liquid form, thus killing it. For them, the fight was getting off to a good start. It soon then turned into a quick scare when a cellular Komayto attached its mandibles onto Zelda's head from behind.

"AAHH!" Zelda shrieked as her life energy was painfully being sucked inside her. She tried to rip off the monster from her head by grabbing its skin on the side to pull it out. Nothing seemed to work as the brunette felt her vision becoming blurrier by the second. "H-help."

Her prayer was met with a shot of plasma to the enemy's pink-red core point-blank. The blast, strangely enough, only launched the cellular monster out to the skies while the Hylian princess was left unharmed by it.

"Samus," Zelda smiled with one tear falling from her left eye. "Thank you for saving me."

"I won't let any of these Metroid-like monsters harm you," the Amazonian woman said as she pointed her Arm Cannon at the oyster monsters that were surrounding the two women. "What do you say we team up against these clams?"

"I'm right behind you," the Hylian princess smirked as she retrieved her rapier that she dropped. She then decided to use her bow and arrows to counter against the Mega Mussels. Zelda then noticed the white angel who regrouped with them. "Pit, got any tips on these creatures?"

"Their shells are hard to break through," he answered before switching his twin blades into bow form. "However, when they open their shell, they'll reveal three pink eyes that'll fire projectiles at you. That's when you strike back."

"Against the eyes I see," Samus concluded as she concentrated on which mussel will open its shell first. "We have to be patient and not be reckless. We must stay close."

Zelda and Pit nodded to acknowledge Samus' command. To their surprise, the four Mega Mussels that surrounded them all opened their shells and shot numerous balls of energy at them. Because they were not anticipating such method of attack, they had to think of something quickly. Then, they came up with a counterattack. Zelda ran in front of Samus while Pit was behind the bounty hunter. The blonde woman trusted her allies and focused on shooting at one of the monsters and trying to destroy its eyes. The Hylian princess had cast Nayru's Love and created a blue diamond-like barrier. The size of the magic was larger than normal as it protected not just her but also Samus and Pit. The white angel summoned his blue and yellow transparent Guardian Orbitars in front of him. The monster's spheres of energy were blocked and deflected back at the enemies causing their eyes to be hit by them. Once the projectiles were reflected back, Zelda and Pit immediately fought back. The princess fired multiple arrows at each eye of a Mega Mussel while the white angel shot blue, ethereal arrows. All three fighters were firing as many attacks as they could to defeat the oyster monsters. Sadly, they managed to destroy several eyes of some Mega Mussels before they all closed their shells.

"Damn," Samus cursed as she was a bit disappointed that her attacks were not as strong as they were before. "Are you two okay?"

"Perfectly fine," Zelda reassured.

"Not breaking a sweat," Pit responded. "But this may be a problem."

"Why is that?" The bounty hunter asked.

"Their eyes will regenerate when their shells are closed."

"So we have to quickly kill them or they'll just regenerate their eyes that easily?"

"Well," the white angel was still concentrating on eliminating these clams while communicating the bounty hunter. "Because we destroyed some of their eyes, they'll regenerate slower."

"At least we did something," Zelda stated before pulling her arrow below her chin.

The creatures executed another battle tactic on their part. One Mega Mussel would open its shell and fire multiple energy orbs. Once it did, the next one followed suit until all of them had done so. Realizing how they were retaliating, the three fighters were prepared to counter back.

"Pit," Zelda called to her ally. "Your Guardian Orbitars..."

"Alright," he shouted before summoning his defensive weapon to reflect the projectiles back to the enemies. Pit then moved around Samus and Zelda to guard them against the energy orbs, which in turn both women were left unharmed. The bounty hunter shot numerous projectiles such as missiles and plasma shots to add damage to one of the mussels. The Hylian princess released her arrow and landed a critical hit on one of the monster's eye. Luckily, that eye was destroyed, making that creature vulnerable due to having just one eye left. Zelda then lowered her bow before casting Din's Fire at another Mega Mussel that had its three eyes regenerated. The explosion caused its eyes to burn and become blind for a moment. It was the perfect moment to strike back. As a result, the brunette fired three consecutive arrows at each eye. All three were hit, and that monster was brought down. Two left remaining. Pit reflected his enemy's projectiles before rapidly shooting his arrows at both eyes equally in order to effectively kill it. He noticed that one ball of energy was coming to him. He swiftly rolled to the right to dodge the attack. The white angel continued firing his arrows until his enemy had fallen. It was then that Samus delivered the final blow to the last Mega Mussel, thus defeating it.

"We got some monsters down," the bounty hunter stated as she scanned the area for any potential assistance.

"We got to help the others," the Hylian princess suggested.

"We have to hurry," the white angel said as he searched for his goddess in case of backup. "Hades could bring more of his army in if we don't quickly defeat these monsters."

"We must hurry," Samus calmly responded before gesturing the two to assist the others.

* * *

Mario, Luigi, and Peach had to fight Cellular Komaytos and Mega Mussels as well. In their initial phase, the brothers threw their fireballs in hopes of bringing them down from range. They then realized that it was ineffective, so they had to figure out other options. Two of the gelatinous creatures approached the brothers with their mandibles, eager to latch themselves onto the brothers. Mario decided to run at one of the monsters and settle it with his hands. One of the enemies lunged at the red plumber. He then rolled to the side to escape its grab. He quickly leaped towards his targeted Cellular Komayto, grabbed its skin, and dragged it to the ground with him. As it was being pinned onto the ground, Mario continuously punched his target's pink-red core by swing left and right with both of his fists. Without his knowledge, a third but different Komayto appeared out of nowhere and latched its mandibles onto the side of Mario's head.

"AA!" He screamed as he stood up and tried to break the monster's grip.

"Mario!" The pink princess shouted his name as she grabbed a tennis racket and swung at the Komayto that was latched onto the red plumber. Then one final, powerful strike was enough for the Komayto to lose its grip on Mario, be sent flying and die from the attack. He nodded and gave thumbs up to his lady for saving him. "Do be careful, Mario. These monsters don't fight like Bowser's minions."

His expression revealed that he was not going to go easy on these enemies. Then he saw the Cellular Komayto that he supposedly was beating down on approach his brother while Luigi was occupied with another enemy. He and Peach ran to assist the younger plumber who looked at both monsters who were trapping him if he tried to escape. Peach threw a turnip at the weakened Cellular Komayto that then turned to see what had hit him. It saw the blonde princess running towards it. However, the enemy did not see Mario who leaped above her, controlled fire on his right fist, and delivered a powerful punch which ended up killing the monster. Seeing that his brother and princess arrived in time, Luigi ran towards the other Komayto and performed a series of rapid, childish punches. He then jumped up to karate chop several times to deal more damage to his target. However, Luigi stood back and waited for the Komayto to come to him. His plan was stepping in the right direction as his target approached the green plumber to suck his life energy. The next thing that happened was Peach floating towards the Cellular Komayto. She fiercely slapped the monster, causing it to move back. Mario hopped onto his princess's back and jumped higher above the Komayto before landing on top of its head with his brown shoes. Mario then immediately jumped repeatedly as the target was slowly descending onto the ground. By the time the monster was on the ground, it was unable to move since Mario continuously stomped on it until his brother ran towards them. Once the green brother got close, he clenched his fist and executed a jumping uppercut right onto its pink-red core. As he performed his attack, his older brother swiftly leaped away to prevent from being launched upward. The strength of Luigi's uppercut was so strong that the Komayto was incinerated while being sent upward.

"Great teamwork," the princess said as Mario and Luigi stared at together and nodded in agreement. "There are more enemies to fight. Let's get moving."

* * *

"Arcfire!" The voice of a tactician who had cast a spell from one of her tomes after swinging around with her bronze sword shouted as she managed to hit her target.

She did not realize that her projectile had attracted other enemies. Shootflies that were surrounding the battlefield had sensed a strong ranged attack present within the battle grounds. Their eyes became red while their ears had spread out to listen to where the attack was coming from. Robin charged up her tome for a little bit before releasing it to a Mega Mussel.

"Elthunder!"

The entire swarm of Shootflies then detected the ranged attack and flew towards where the tactician had shouted her spell. They were aggressively flying towards the tactician and swarmed around her, making her lose focus on her primary target.

"What the?!" Robin was surprised to see that many bat-like monsters surrounding her with their menacing red eyes. "What are these things?"

"Mother!" Her son saw that his mother was in trouble with the new monsters that had shown up. Lucian immediately ran towards there to assist Robin, leaving a Komayto to follow him. The masked swordsman swung his Parallel Falchion twice at two of the Shootflies. Because it was a surprise attack, both of the enemies were killed instantly. Lucian instinctively ran behind her mother's back to support her backside. "Mother, are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Robin gently smiled before looking at the bat-like creatures that were surrounding them. She was confused as to why they were not attacking. "Strange…"

"Why aren't they attacking when they were encircling you?" Her son asked as he was also bewildered by how the flying monsters were just floating around with their red eyes.

"My thoughts exactly," she then was ready to conjure up another spell. "But do be careful. Let's keep our back together. We must figure out how to deal with these pests."

"Will do, mother!" The Ylissean swordfighter then waited until one of the Shootflies approached him. Because they were merely flying around and surrounding the mother and offspring, Robin and Lucian decided to take action.

"Elwind!" A regular wind had cast from her tome. Two boomerang-like wind magic dispersed and struck the many Shootflies that were in her sight. Although they were hit, it was not enough to kill them. As her son was running towards the enemies within his sight, those monsters flew past him. As he turned back, he realized that they were going to attack the tactician. It was too late for him as her mother did not anticipate being attacked from behind. "AAAGGHH!"

Robin fell onto the ground. Other Shootflies that did not attack her first then followed through. The tactician felt quick pains from the flying creatures that slashed her with their ears. Although painful, no wounds were detected from those attacks.

"Mother!" Lucian then decided to stand in front of her mother to protect her as she got up on her own. "You must stay for a bit. They can attack at any moment."

"Lucian," the tactician sounded fine even though many Shootflies attacked her. "I think I figured them out."

"You do?"

"Yeah," she then turned her back and unsheathed her Levin Sword. "They respond if I only use my magic spells. However, what if I use my Levin sword instead?"

Before they could experiment their plan, a dark angel ran at the swarm of Shootlies and swung numerous times with his Silver Bow. After several swings, Dark Pit shot several purple arrows at some of the flying creatures. His arrows managed to hit them, but the ones that were not hit sensed another ranged attack within their presence. As a result, the remaining of them flew to attack Dark Pit. He smirked since he knew what was going to happen next.

A cyan beam appeared from the bottom and had struck upward hitting the Shootflies that were flying towards the front of the black angel's face. Robin and Lucian were confused as to how some enemies had been killed by a blue beam. They turned to see Palutena who had conjured up her attack from a distance after taking down the Mega Mussels she had dealt with.

"Didn't I say that we fight together?" The goddess said with a slight hint of humor in her tone. "Did you all expect me to fight these clams by myself?"

"My mother was in danger, so I had to help," the masked swordsman defended himself.

"Well," the tactician sheepishly chuckled because she was not sure if she could tell her son that the goddess was making a joke.

"Did you really think you're going to listen to her joke?" Dark Pit scoffed at the masked swordsman thinking he was naïve.

"We should focus more on the battle instead of debating whether my son can't tell a joke or not," Robin teased yet was serious simultaneously before taking out her tome. "Since the four of us are here against these monsters, I guess they don't mind if I use my magic again. Lucian, get close to these pests and I'll use my magic once you're near."

"Understood, mother," the blue-haired swordsman said as he ran towards the swarm of Shootflies that were no longer surrounding them. "Surely, they don't pose much a threat, but I won't let my guard down."

Dark Pit followed suit to attack the remaining Shootflies that Lucian was not planning on attacking first. Palutena and Robin then were ready to follow through once the swordsman and the dark angel had made the first contact. The goddess shot multiple blue spheres from the orb of her staff to the enemies that Dark Pit and Lucian struck their weapons with. When the Shootflies reacted to Palutena's projectiles, Robin immediately was prepared to strike back after fully charging her tome.

"Thoron!" A powerful cylindrical stream of electrical magic had struck through the majority of the Shootflies remaining. The power of her attack caused them to be in paralysis, making them unable to fly towards both her and Palutena. Lucian and Dark Pit took one swing at each remaining Shootfly because it was enough for them to be defeated.

The rest of the fighters dealt with more of Hades's Army when the next wave came at them. This time they were not separated from each other as commanded by the Goddess of Light. Since they had an idea on how to fight the same monsters that Hades's created, it was not much of a problem for them, which started to upset Hades a little.

"Why can't my pathetic monsters do anything against you annoying little shits?" The Lord of the Underworld vented his frustration by how the Smashers were able to fight his small army with no issue. "This is starting to make me mad."

"You do indeed have a great ton of power," Palutena smirked as she made a sarcastic comment.

"Now that your army is beaten into a pulp," Dark Pit pointed his Silver Bow at the astral form of the demon lord. "It's time for me to kill you."

"Come on now," Hades pretended to act like he was hurt by the words of his enemies. "I got some tricks upon my sleeve."

"Like what?" The dark angel scoffed.

"I'm so glad that you asked, Pittooty Too," Hades then snapped his right middle finger with his right thumb to create another different monster. A dark cloud shrouded in front of the demon, rapidly spinning as fast as it could. It then became larger in size, prompting some fighters to look apprehensive about what was about to happen. The mysterious, dense mist then had impacted the ground in front of the Smashers who then covered their eyes from the gale blowing at them.

* * *

What they saw next was a giant Reaper whose skeleton toes were exposed with his glowing green eyes. Its giant scythe looked daunting with its appearance being different compared to regular Reapers. The Great Reaper had let out a powerful roar to intimidate the other Smashers. The booming wave of its scream caused most fighters to close their eyes and cover them.

"The Great Reaper?" Pit shouted in shock and confusion. "I thought I killed that thing!"

"So Hades can summon stronger monsters now?" Robin asked, expressing astonishment by her enemy's power.

"This is the power of the Master Core," Master Hand explained as he was ready to fight back. "He is able to not only retain his former power, but he can also revive far greater monsters."

"That's insane!" The tactician grunted and cringed at the explanation.

"I like to see you all try," Hades mocked his enemies as he fired multiple dark orbs of energy at Pit, Dark Pit, and Palutena.

The goddess then had cast a transparent, reflective barrier to deflect the attacks back. The angels summoned their Guardian Orbitars to rebound the dark orbs. Despite managing to deflect those attacks, one shadow ball was redirected towards the bounty hunter. Samus was prepared to block the attack when her sensors detected a projectile coming at her. However, a Hylian princess stood in front of her and conjured Nayru's Love to redirect the attack to the Great Reaper. After seeing that his projectiles were futile, Hades scoffed since he sort of knew that his opponents were capable of blocking his attacks.

"So is there a way to fight this ginormous reaper?" Robin asked the angel and the goddess since she knew that they had experience against it.

"Attack its head and toes," the white angel answered her question. "Those are his weak points."

"I see," the tactician was a bit weirded out that the Great Reaper's feet were one of the two major weak points. "Well, if that what it takes to kill that thing, then so be it."

"Pit, Pittoo," Palutena turned to her angels. "I need you two to fly while everyone else here fights on the ground."

"You got it, Lady Palutena," Pit optimistically said with determination before tightly gripping his Palutena Bow.

"We'll make this real quick, so none of you guys mess up," his doppelganger said before wielding his Silver Bow.

"We will do our best," Lucian responded as he gripped his sword horizontally with the tip of the blade pointing at the Great Reaper.

With that, Palutena granted her Power of Flight to Pit and Dark Pit who then took off to fly around the Great Reaper. Meanwhile, the rest of the fighters remained on the ground to take the monster down.

The white angel was flying around clockwise while the dark angel flew in the opposite direction. Pit and Dark pit fired their arrows rapidly onto the creature's head. Several arrows from both angels had struck the Great Reaper. The monster then began retaliating by gripping his scythe with both of its hand, bringing it back, and then swinging it diagonally at the white angel. Pit barely escaped the attack just by an inch.

"That was a close one," Pit said as he took a deep breath.

"Are you okay?" Palutena communicated her angel through her laurel.

"I'm fine," he felt like his normal self again before shooting more arrows. "I just need to be more careful."

"Continue to shoot arrows on the Great Reaper's head," the goddess commanded before using her staff to fire reticles at the monster's feet.

Meanwhile, the rest of the Smashers did their part fighting on the ground. Samus shot missiles while Zelda had cast Din's Fire to keep their range at the enemy. Mario, Luigi, and Peach managed to get closer to the Great Reaper. The princess threw numerous turnips at the monster's feet. The brothers decided to get even closer to the creature who was still occupying against the angels above. The green plumber threw fireballs first before running in to deliver karate shops and punches. His older brother only threw one fireball before performing a flying sex kick. Once he landed, Mario went on to continuously throw out strong punches to damage the reaper. Lucian joined with the Mario brothers to engage in close combat while his mother stood further back to strategize her battle tactics. Lastly, Palutena stood aside with the tactician and shot three columns of light at the Great Reaper's feet. Afterward, she pointed her staff at the monster and a large, red explosive flame was conjured up right on the reaper's feet. Mario, Luigi, and Lucian were startled and took several steps back to avoid touching the goddess's magic.

The Great Reaper looked down and saw that more fighters were attacking from the ground. Enraged by this, the Great Reaper ignored the attacks from the angels and focused on the others down below.

"Pittoo, we have to help out the others!" Pit warned his doppelganger as they realized what was transpiring.

"Don't just stand there, go!" Dark Pit shouted back before shooting another arrow right onto the Great Reaper's eye. Despite that, it looked like it had no effect.

"Lady Palutena!" Pit called his goddess through the laurel. "Let us fight on the ground."

"I can't risk you two getting hurt by the Great Reaper," the green-haired woman responded. "Focus fighting in the air. Do not worry about us. We can take care of things here. After all, we have some of the strongest people here."

"Are you sure?" The white angel was concerned that something terrible might happen.

"Relax, Pit," Palutena reassured before firing more columns of light at the Great Reaper. "Everything will be alright."

"Understood," Pit reluctantly said before continuing to attack the reaper's head.

The Great Reaper then began lifting its right foot, had hovered it over the brothers and the masked swordsman and stomped on them. Luckily, all three leaped away in time to escape from being crushed. The reaper lifted its other foot but went past the swordsman before hovering over to the goddess and the tactician. Seeing that her mother was in danger, Lucian immediately took action.

"Mother! Lady Palutena!" The blue-haired swordsman ran as quickly as he could to push Robin and Palutena out of the way.

Robin managed to run away, but Palutena could not move. She looked down and saw that her ankles were tied together by some sealed purple magic.

"What's this?" The greenette was becoming worried that she would not escape in time. However, she knew who tied her ankles together.

Before she met with the reaper's skeletal foot, Lucian managed to push the goddess out of the way, barely escaping the stomp. Both of them had fallen and rolled away.

"Thank you for saving me again," Palutena smiled at the swordsman.

"Your ankles are tied together," Lucian stated before positioning his Parallel Falchion at the purple magic. "Hold still."

The masked swordsman swung the blade and had broken the magic that immobilized Palutena for that moment. The goddess could not help but be glad that Robin's son had saved her again.

"You remind me of Pit, sometimes," she commented before firing reticles from her staff.

"This isn't the time for that talk," he responded rather coldly. "This enemy must be taken down."

Palutena shrugged her shoulders, hoping that she could try to get to know the mysterious Ylissean. From the distance, Hades noticed something interesting about that interaction. Something inside him felt that there was more to the goddess and the swordsman. He first took a gaze at the Ylissean and observed how he fought and the way he sounded. After watching for some time, the demon reached an astounding conclusion.

He smirked. "So _that's_ who you are, _Lucian…._ Since you like protecting those you care about, I think I can spice things up from here."

After dodging the reckless stomping by the Great Reaper, the Smashers managed to retaliate with their own attacks. Samus and Zelda, after avoiding the monster's sight, had snuck up behind it and shot their projectiles on the back of its feet. The surprise sneak attack caused the Great Reaper to turn back and charge towards both women. As a result, Lucian, Palutena, Mario, and Luigi countered back against the reaper. Palutena released a powerful ray of light at the Great Reaper's head. Pit and Dark Pit continued fighting in the air by mixing their offensive tactics with a series of slashes and kicks to deal more damage. Mario and Luigi threw out more fireballs on its feet to make the creature fall, which did not work. Lucian ran towards the reaper's left foot and swung his blade horizontally before charging at its right foot to swing in a vertically upward motion.

Robin shot several different magic spells at the Great Reaper that was becoming confused, mindlessly swinging its scythe and stomping in place. She then realized that its head was the bigger weak point, so she was ready to aim there. Electricity was present from her tome. Her eyes were locked at her target. She spun around before extending her right arm to cast her powerful magic spell, Thoron. "Time to tip the scales!"

A large, cylindrical stream of electrical magic was sent towards the head of the Great Reaper. The magnitude of Thoron was powerful enough for the monster's eyes to gush out light.

"What's happening now?" Robin shouted, hoping that things were going in their favor.

"Attack its head," Palutena commanded to everyone who could use ranged attacks. "The light on its head is its greatest weak spot."

Samus fired a charged shot. Zelda had cast Din's Fire. Robin used Elwind. All three attacks had struck the Great Reaper who was extremely weak as of now. The goddess then commanded her angels to deliver the final blow since it was vulnerable and close to them. Dark Pit and Pit were flying towards the monster on opposite sides. The white angel had his Upperdash Arm ready while the dark angel had the Electroshock Arm at his disposal. Because Dark Pit was closer, he struck first on the reaper's head. Pit then delivered the final blow with a powerful uppercut to defeat the Great Reaper.

The Great Reaper was crushed again. A blue stream of light was coming out of its head. It stumbled backward trying to fight back. However, it was to no avail before the Great Reaper had fallen to its sides before dissipating into nothingness.

"All done!"

"That's how we get it done."

"Nice work, Pit and Pittoo."

The angels flew back to Palutena as the Power of Flight was nearly out of its juice. The Smashers regrouped together before facing the astral Hades who was slowly clapping at his enemies pretending to be amused by the show he was watching.

"Bravo," he sarcastically said with a tone of little interest. "Bravo, everyone. You all sure know how to fight in this world."

"Give it up, Hades," Pit hollered at the demon. "We took down more of your army and the Great Reaper. There's nothing you can throw at that we can't handle."

"Oh," Hades sounded intrigued and played along with the white angel. "Are you sure about that?"

"Y-yeah, I'm sure," he had a small doubt inside of him, but he was not going to let that get to his head.

"What about that tactician and her son?"

All of the Smashers, including Robin and Lucian, were bewildered by what the Lord of the Underworld was talking about.

"Maybe I should speak to you all in private?" Hades sadistically smirked before conjuring up power from the Master Core within him. His right finger was pointing upward while a bright orb was being created. "There are some bugs here that shouldn't be here. Let me eliminate them."

He then threw the ball of light at the Smashers. What they did not expect was that the orb had split into multiple rays of light to target each fighter. However, the number of rays was not equivalent to the number of Smashers.

Mario was the first one to get hit who tried to protect Peach and Luigi. They, too, suffered the same fate as him.

Samus pushed Zelda out of the way before she was struck by the light.

"Samus!" The Hylian screamed at her lady's name before getting hit by another ray of light.

Enraged by the sudden attack, Master Hand clenched his fists and charged at Hades. The demon simply laughed as the last ray of light was actually targeting him.

The right hand had been hit. His disembodied hand fell onto the ground and was unable to move.


	5. Ylisse

Chapter 5

The five remaining Smashers who were not struck with Hades' rays of light were horrified that they witnessed their allies had fallen. To make matters worse, Master Hand tried to stop the demon, only to get hit by that same light. The Lord of the Underworld simply laughed manically because his targets were unable to resist his attack. This irked the remaining fighters who were facing him.

"Hades!" Pit screamed at the demon while showing bitter anger towards him. "How could you do that?!"

"I didn't do anything wrong," he acted like he did not care. "You asked for it."

"That's really low even for you," his doppelganger responded before firing a silver arrow at Hades.

"Real cute," the demon smirked before crossing his arms. The arrow went through his transparent body. "You can't touch me where I'm at."

"You're disrupting the natural balance of this world," Palutena said with such disdain for the demon. "Such a vile vermin should not exist in this world and we will eliminate you at all costs."

"Save me the talk of 'disrupting the natural balance of this world'," Hades air-quoted the goddess' words while mocking her in a feminine, bratty tone. His comment had upset her before his astral form disappeared.

"Where did he go?" Pit wondered as the remaining five searched the city to detect any signs of him.

Before they knew, Hades' physical form appeared in front of them just like their previous encounter not too long ago. However, something about him appeared to be different. None of his physical features were any different than before because they all knew about his revival. They all had this unpleasant feeling about the ominous vibe radiating from the Lord of the Underworld.

"What is this feeling I'm detecting from him?" Palutena said with concern in her tone. "I can sense Hades yet… there's something else inside him that's making him look like he's a different person."

"Now that's much better," he stretched out his arms and body to stall time. "We meet again Pitty Pat."

"Back off, Hades," the white angel barked before gripping his bow tighter. "We're going to stop you and bring back the others."

"You should actually look at your allies before you come crying to me," Hades insulted Pit before chuckling at his lack of awareness.

Pit, Dark Pit, Palutena, Robin, and Lucian ran to help the allies, believing that the demon had done something to them. The tactician tried to shake the bounty hunter several times. After doing so, Robin saw Samus' right hand flinch, giving her hope that the others were alive.

"Samus!" She shouted, catching the attention of the others. "Can you hear me? Please be okay!"

Miraculously, from the green visor inside, the blonde woman's eyes had opened, prompting Robin to be relieved and smile. Samus grunted and looked like she woke up from a restless night. However, something felt off for the bounty hunter. She was unable to move much. It was as if her strength was depleted from her.

"I feel weak," Samus said hoarsely, struggling to get up before giving up. "What's going on? Is Zelda okay?"

"I-I'm fine, Samus," The Hylian spoke, sounding similar to how the bounty hunter spoke. "Why can't I feel my body?"

"I suppose my powers are still slowly becoming stronger," Hades said out of nowhere as he was fixing his hair. "I can't say I'm surprised."

"What are you talking about?" The goddess asked since she was even more concerned about the state of Hades.

"I've only been revived for a short amount of time," Hades continued to style his hair to toy around with the fighters. "It'll take some time to adjust and control it until I can kill you all."

"Then we'll kill you before you can achieve your fully realized power," the tactician shouted after carefully laying Samus down for her to rest. Robin then turned to face the demon. "You won't ruin this world, especially after every single one here who is here to not just fight but also become friends among one another."

"Is that so?" Hades stopped working on his hair and stared at his enemies. He looked at each fighter intently, thinking about what to do with them. The masked swordsman was the one he was most intrigued mainly because he was wearing a mask to hide his identity. The demon shifted his focus to Lucian, causing the Ylissean to be uncomfortable until he decided to say something. "Ah, and you are Lucian I presume?"

"How do you know my name?" Robin's son inquired who was surprised to hear that Hades knew his name.

"The Master Core allows me access to every single data of each fighter in this so-called Super Smash Brothers," the Lord of the Underworld explained. "So I know about you and your mother."

"Gods, oh gods, no," Lucian became worried about his identity. Hearing his son showing despair, Robin had to think of something to get out of this situation.

"What's wrong, Lucian?" Palutena inquired who was curious about the swordsman's identity. She herself wanted to know who he really was, so she can be friends with him. "Why don't you want to show us who you are?"

"I… cannot let that happen," he simply responded, turning his head away from the sight of others. "You must not know more about me."

"Why not? Are you hiding some dark secret from others?"

"Goddess Palutena," Robin softly called to her. "Please respect my d… son's choice. He wants to keep things close to himself. I ask you to not pry into that."

"I understand," the goddess reluctantly said despite still wanting to know more about the masked swordsman.

"Too bad for you, Professor Palutena," Hades mocked the goddess in her playful tone. "I know more about him than you do.

"Enough of your mockery," the green-haired goddess was becoming irritated by Hades' and then pointed her staff at the demon. "This is the end of the line for you."

"Lucian isn't who you think he is," hearing those words caused the swordsman to grunt and be displeased.

"Do not disclose anything about my personal life!" Lucian hollered at the demon lord.

"Let's just say that he is-"before he could say anything else, a sudden surge of electrical pain pulsated through his brain. Hades fell to his knees and placed his hands on the sides of his head. Each time his heart was pumping, each time he was breathing, the surging pain was flowing through his head. "AAGHH! Not again! It's getting worse! AAAAHHHH!"

Pit, Dark Pit, Palutena, Robin, and Lucian were all bewildered yet frightened by the sudden change in Hades' behavior. They were not sure if they should immediately attack him. It was the perfect opportunity to defeat the Lord of the Underworld. However, something felt wrong inside all five of them. There was this peculiar feeling that if they were to attack Hades right now, it would lead to a great catastrophe. In the end, neither of them made the first move, not even Dark Pit. They were afraid that assaulting the demon would cause unexpected outcomes since they never saw him this way before. As they watched Hades scream in agony, the goddess gripped her staff tightly, wanting to end his life right away. However, she was worried that acting carelessly would be an unwise decision.

Then Hades stopped screaming. While on his knees, he stared at his enemies with such disdain. His eyes showed his desire to humiliate and watch his most hated enemies suffer as long as he could.

"What?" Hades asked in a slightly humorous tone yet presented such demonic presence. "Are you surprised that I can feel pain?"

No one wanted to answer because the demon acted like the headaches did nothing on him.

"It's finally here."

All of the fighters expressed confusion by his vague statement.

"I have enough strength that I stole from your pathetic friends through the rays of light to begin my vengeance for people."

"Revenge?" Robin, at first, was not sure by what the Lord of the Underworld meant. She remembered the conversation with Master Hand earlier. "Oh, crap…"

"Mother?" Lucian called to his mother who looked like she saw a ghost.

"So you all know," Hades then stood up with a dark smirk on his face. "I hate this world and its people who don't appreciate my work."

It was then that they realized that Hades was not acting like himself.

"Humans seek to desire things that only benefit them. If they seek and find things that don't reach their expectations, they will use that against me and degrade my own work as if it's just picking and selecting anything because it's just that easy. None of them know the pain I went through to endure such negativity and seeing the one thing I love turn into something I have bitter hatred for. For that, I must kill all civilians in this city and watch them suffer the same way I did."

"That isn't true," Pit shouted back. "Everyone appreciated the things you have done to bring happiness and excitement to not just your people but to us as well. If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have met such great people whom I've grown fond of. Master Hand has done everything in his power to make dreams a reality. That is something you should be proud of!"

"Oh, if you only understand my position," Hades then opened a portal behind.

"We must stop him!" Palutena warned everyone as they were ready to attack.

"How would my people in this city feel?"

All of them were stumped by his question.

"What if I bring stronger allies by my side and kill everyone here? What makes it better is seeing my people's so-called heroes get killed with my new powerful army? I think that's the perfect way to gain the pleasure of listening to the music of the screams and pains of people."

"I won't let that happen!" The white angel ran towards the demon along with his doppelganger.

"This time, I mean it when I say I'm going to kill you!" Dark Pit threatened Hades.

"We will save this world from your evil ways!"

"So you rather choose this world over say… Ylisse?" Hades sneered to entice a response to Robin and Lucian.

"You wouldn't…" the tactician growled as she dauntingly glared at the demon.

"You will not devastate our home," the masked swordsman shouted as he ran with his Parallel Falchion to kill Hades.

"Too late," Hades fired multiple purple orbs to stop Lucian's tracks. He managed to evade the attacks. By the time they all hit the ground, it was too late. "Ylisse will fall into my hands."

* * *

Hades entered his portal, and it immediately disappeared once he was gone from this world. Both the mother and her son were panicking over the fact that Hades had traveled to a different universe, specifically their world to gain more power and claim more souls. This had put fear into them. They needed to return to Ylisse to stop Hades because their loved ones were about to be murdered by the Lord of the Underworld.

"Gods, oh gods, no," Lucian was horrified by the thought of that demon invading his home. "We must find a way to reach Ylisse."

"There has to be a way," his mother agreed as she put all of her effort to coming up with a method to return to their homeland. "Is there even a way?"

"There has to be, mother!" The masked Ylissean shouted, being fearful of what may happen at his home. "If we can't find a way, then father will…"

"He will be fine, Lucian!" Robin placed her hands on her son's shoulders and shook him. "We will find a way back home."

"We want to help," the goddess intervened who felt concern for her allies. "Pit, Pittoo and I want to come along."

"Besides, you guys need help against Hades and his Underworld Army," Pit said with optimism in his tone.

"Thank you," Robin was grateful that the goddess and her two angels were willing to help them protect their beloved home. "We will need all the help we can get, especially you guys who know about Hades."

"The question is how to get there…" Palutena mentioned which no one could figure out how to travel to another universe.

"There's… one thing…"

The voice that the fighters all recognized, Master Hand had not just survived the ray of light but also the impact of his fall. They looked around to see where he was located. Though, they did not need to search long because the floating right hand slowly made his way to the group.

"Master Hand," Palutena called out the Creator's name. "You're alive."

"For now," he said which caused the Smashers to be concerned by what he had meant. Master Hand had a difficult time staying afloat due to his remaining powers being taken away by Hades. "There is still time to stop Hades from terrorizing Ylisse."

"How can we reach there?" Robin asked.

"By using some of my remaining strength to create a portal to Ylisse," Master Hand stated.

Hearing that response was not something they all wanted to hear. The main reason was that it would mean that Master Hand was at risk of death should he do such a thing.

"No, there has to be another way," Pit heavily disagreed. "Please tell me there's another way."

"Alas, my young angel," the right hand weakly answered back before coughing. "This is the only way in our current situation. With my brother losing his soul, Hades gathering enough power he needed for his reign of terror, and my current state, this is the only possible option for any possible chance of saving your world and this world."

Even though the white angel disliked the thought of the Creator risking his life to create a portal to save Robin and Lucian's home from Hades, Pit understood why he made that choice. After all, he was also in a situation where he had to risk his life to save someone dear to him. "Then let's go to Ylisse."

"I thank all of you for assisting us in traveling to our home to save it from Hades," the masked swordsman slightly grinned at the thought that Pit, Dark Pit, and Palutena would be willing to help him and Robin to protect his home. "No words could appreciate how honored we are that…"

"There's no need to say anymore," the goddess interrupted Lucian's words. "We cannot let any more innocent lives be killed by that disgusting demon."

"Lady Palutena…" Lucian softly said as his smile was beaming a bit.

"It is settled," the floating hand declared. "You five will be sent to Ylisse. With my remaining strength, I'll help out the others who have been struck by Hades' magic. Are you all ready?"

Pit, Dark Pit, Palutena, Robin, and Lucian all nodded and were determined that they will defeat Hades and save Ylisse from another calamity. The tactician and the swordsman were worried the most for several reasons. Firstly, it was their universe, so they must protect it at all costs. Secondly, their comrades and friends were in grave danger at the hands of Hades. Lastly, Lucian's father and Robin's husband would also be in imminent danger of harm.

"Good," Master Hand had used the last remaining of his strength to create a portal to their destination. "I entrust that you all succeed in your journey. Come back safely."

"We will," Robin said before looking down with her eyes closed.

"I do have one request for you all," his voice sounded like he was in despair. "If you find a white soul that has a left-hand symbol marked on it, please save my brother as I have no strength within me to fight on."

"Your brother will be saved," the masked swordsman said with hope in his tone.

"Thank you."

With that, the angels, a goddess, a tactician, and a swordsman walked into the portal, leaving behind their fellow comrades who had been severely weakened and the world that they all had met. The battle was done in the city, but the war there had not been finished. They still had other Smashers who were unaffected by Hades' magic to assist and defend the Smash World. Master Hand, after using his last remaining powers to create a portal, had collapsed to the ground with the palm of his hand facing up towards the sky.

"Master Hand…" Samus called out as she barely sat up despite losing much of her physical strength. "Are you okay?"

"I am fine," he simply responded. "Just a little rest for us and we will have our strengths renewed soon… as long as the others come."

"Help! Anyone?!" She screamed out as loud as she could. It was rather hoarse since she fought a god and had her strength stripped away. Luckily, several Smashers heard her voice and ran towards the sound. Samus then saw a brunette lying with her back on the ground. Her eyes were closed, but the sensors detected that the Hylian was conscious. The bounty hunter crawled her way to the princess even though overextending in her weakened state would worsen her condition. Miraculously, Samus made her way to Zelda before her Power Suit ran out of energy to sustain itself. Her Zero Suit was what her battle attire was before lying next to the Hylian princess. "Wake up, Zelda…"

A groan was heard from the brunette, prompting Samus to grin that she was alive. "S-Samus? What happened?"

"A lot has happened," the blonde woman then placed her right hand onto the brunette's right cheek. "Do not worry about that right now. I need you to rest up once the other fighters arrive."

"Yes, Samus," Zelda said before turning to face her bounty hunter and placing her left hand on Samus' left cheek.

* * *

The southeast of the continent, Ylisse, laid a country bearing the same name as its continent name. Just outside of a small town was a vast green grassy landscape. It was a beautiful sight to see. Nature was gorgeous as it stood on its own without any urbanization to change it. However, this was not the time to relax in the calming fields.

One afternoon, a Lord and a princess were walking down a road that surrounded the grassy green area. They saw a strange circular portal appear in the sky not far from them. Concerned for his sister, the Lord stood in front of her as he unsheathed his blade to guard any potential foreign threat. However, that feeling soon faded away as they saw five bodies fall from that portal and onto the grassy ground. He and the princess ran to where the people landed, expressing concern for the well-being for those individuals. Once they reached there, they had a mixture of emotions as to who they found: two angels, a green-haired woman, and the Lord's family.

"There are better places to take a nap than on the ground, you know," the Lord teased as he extended his hand out to the tactician who warmly smiled at the first people she saw. "Give me your hand."

"This is all too familiar," Robin chuckled as she reached out the Lord's hand to receive help getting up. "A decent trip down memory lane but the landing could have been better."

"I didn't expect you to fall out of the sky all of a sudden."

"There's a lot to explain," the tactician tidied her robe. "Well, I'm glad that it was you two that found us. Chrom and Lissa, what were you guys doing here in the first place?"

"What about the others?" Lissa asked as she reached a hand to a white angel. "Is he an actual angel?"

"Yeah, I'm a real angel," Pit answered her question as he grabbed the young girl's hand. "Thanks for the hand."

"Are you hurt?" She expressed a bit of concern for his well-being.

"No, I'm fine," Pit responded before chuckling. "I've been in worse situations."

Dark Pit, Palutena, and Lucian then managed to get up on their own with the dark angel and the goddess looking confused as to where they were.

"Where are we?" Palutena asked as she straightened out her outfit.

"You don't know where you are?" Lissa asked in confusion.

"Not a clue."

"Well, you're in Ylisse, duh," Lissa said as if the goddess was not smart enough to know where she was.

"So we made it," her remark confused the young princess.

"Are you not from here?"

"Lissa," Robin spoke to catch her sister-in-law. "There's much to explain right now. We'll clarify everything once we head back home."

"Oh," she was disappointed but understood her brother's wife. Lissa then turned to the angels and the goddess to introduce herself. "My name is Lissa. Nice to you meet you all."

"My name is Palutena," the goddess introduced herself to Chrom and Lissa.

"Dark Pit is my name," he crossed his arms and looked away.

"I'm Pit," the white angel greeted.

"Are you two twins?" Lissa's curiosity made her question more of the foreign beings in front of her.

"Lissa, you know what I said?" The tactician asked the young princess to remind that everything will be explained in a better environment.

"Hrmm," she growled and pouted simultaneously. "You win this time, Robin."

"We'll take you all back to our castle and go from there," Chrom stated to the five fighters who then nodded to agree with his terms. The Lord then saw the masked swordsman and was surprised to see that Lucian was with them. "Luci-"

"Anyways," Robin interrupted her husband's words to prevent her son's identity being revealed to the others. "We should head back to Ylisstol right about now. Right, Chrom?"

"Sure…" her husband responded in a form a question, being extremely confused by what just happened.

" _Thank you, mother,"_ Lucian thought to himself, relieved that he was safe from revealing his identity to the angels and the goddess.

Palutena was becoming suspicious between Robin and her son. She still could not figure out why hiding Lucian's identity was important to them. Even though she had to respect the masked individual's decision, Palutena could not help but be intrigued by his mysteriousness. She hoped that he will disclose about it eventually.

The seven of them then walked their way to the capital, Ylisstol where the Lord ruled as Exalt. As they reached their destination, the residents within the capital stared at Pit, Dark Pit, and Palutena because they had never seen those kinds of people in their world. It made sense, but it did not help the fact that the three newcomers felt uncomfortable by Ylisseans' strange glares as if they were not wanted here. Despite being accompanied by the Exalt and his sister, the stares gave them worries about the culture in Ylisse.

They had reached the main entrance of the castle which was guarded by two soldiers who then saw their Exalt coming through.

"Your Majesty," both Ylissean acknowledged the Exalt as they bowed to let them in. "Right this way."

"He's a king?" Palutena spoke to herself quietly as she mused about what she had just heard. "Does that mean…?"

"Right this way everyone," Chrom instructed his group inside the castle. "We will discuss in the throne room. Follow me."

The castle was quite large compared to its appearance from the outside. Pillars lined up in unison on opposite sides to make the castle's appearance look more fitting for its title. Guards patrolled within the castle in case of intruders or unwanted individuals. Pit, Dark Pit, and Palutena were quite surprised to see a castle since they were used to living in a temple. However, the design and appearance were somewhat similar between the goddess' temple and the Ylisstol castle. It was home to the ruler of their respective lands and only the highest ranks or of royal blood was allowed in those places. After witnessing a glimpse of the castle, the group had arrived at the throne room where a red carpet was lined up to a seat that belonged to the Exalt himself. Chrom requested his guards to secure the outside while leaving him and his group by themselves to discuss the matter in private.

"Alright," the Exalt began as he faced the group. "So what is exactly going on?"

"Chrom…" his wife calmly said before trying to explain the current situation at hand as clear as she could. "You know that your son and I were invited to the Super Smash Brothers tournament…"

"Yes…" his response made him even more bewildered about Lucian. He wanted to correct his wife's statement. Despite that, he saw Robin's eyes that showed him to not disclose anything about the masked swordsman. Without giving it away, he went along. "Is the competition over?"

"It is," Palutena added. "However, something terrible had happened."

"Tell us more," Lissa impatiently asked.

"It is best if Lady Palutena, Pit, and Dark Pit explain the rest themselves," Robin gave them the center of attention.

"The Creator's negative emotions had caused him to develop a hatred for his people and his world himself. He tried to destroy those emotions or rather lessened its intensity," the goddess explained. "He tried to transfer them to a host through the Master Core. However…"

"Is that world destroyed?" Chrom concluded based on the information he heard and how he interpreted it.

"No," Palutena closed her eyes because she disliked that an unfortunate event had happened. "This had led to the revival of Hades."

"Hades?" Robin's husband wondered who that was.

"That name sounds scary," Lissa reacted with concern in her eyes.

"Hades is an evil god who steals innocent souls to create more monsters for his Underworld Army," the white angel explained. "Not only does he steal souls for that, but he also uses them to gain power for himself or even regenerate himself. He wants to corrupt everything and bring chaos for people to turn against each other. Hades is the definition of evil."

"That sounds horrible," the young princess felt disgusted learning about the demon. "He sounds like Grima!"

"Grima?" Palutena wondered who that was.

"What does Hades have to do with you guys?" The Lord inquired since he was not getting the main picture.

"Hades comes from our world," the goddess answered. "There is something more. Hades holds the negative emotions of the Creator, so he has two personas. He wants to gain more power and annihilate everything that is pure, including multiple universes."

"Are you suggesting that he is here?!" Chrom grunted at the thought that the aforementioned demon may be in their world. "Is he trying to cause catastrophe in Ylisse?!"

"Yes, he is here," Robin reluctantly said. "That's why we are here in order to stop him from destroying this world."

Chrom and Lissa were disturbed that an evil god was present in their country. They know that they had been through this frightening situation with the Fell Dragon. Because of that, they realized the seriousness of what was at stake.

"I can trust you three that Hades is a major threat to everyone here," Chrom stated with his head hung low.

"Just when I thought everything here in Ylisse was peaceful," Lissa disliked the thought of disaster striking in her beloved country again. "But I hate this Hades guy a lot!"

"We will gladly assist you three to stop this evil monstrosity."

"Thank you, Chrom," Palutena was glad to hear that the Exalt was willing to help them in defeating their most hated enemy.

"I cannot let anything happen to our country," Chrom said with a serious expression.

"If I may ask," the goddess caught the attention of the group. "Robin and Lucian, you two are royalty?"

"I am the descendant of the first Exalt," Chrom explained. "Think of it as royal bloodline. However, Robin is my wife, and she is my top advisor for our military tactics despite having no royal blood for the Exalt. And our… son is the next in line once I step down or if I fall in battle."

Palutena could not help but wonder why Chrom was confused when he addressed his child as his son. The Lord was obviously uncomfortable about it while Robin tried her best to hide the identity of their son. She tried to figure out why the tactician was so adamant on maintaining her son's identity. There were some possibilities, but neither sounded plausible to her. She will eventually learn about him, but Palutena realized that it was going to take time.

"At least I know one thing about you, Lucian," she playfully smirked at the masked swordsman.

Lucian merely closed his eyes and tried to hide the embarrassment from the goddess' playful remark.

"We must notify our finest warriors for any upcoming-"

"Sire!"

The seven turned back to see that one of his soldiers entered into the throne room. He was a Cavalier who would patrol the kingdom's parameters while receiving relayed messages from his fellow troops that were stationed at different areas across the country. The expression on his face revealed that something dreadful was happening.

"What is wrong?" Chrom had a worried look on his face.

"Our soldiers detected Risen coming to the capital!" He blurted out after taking several deep breaths.

"What?!"

He, Lissa, Robin, and Lucian were absolutely shocked to hear such information. While Pit, Dark Pit, and Palutena were unaware of what Risen was, the rest felt shivers going through their bodies. They had not encountered such monsters since the Fell Dragon.

"He's already done it," Robin stated as she expressed contempt that Hades had already begun his invasion just after he entered this world.

They could not rest for a minute. Everything was at stake: the kingdom, the residents, the country, and their own lives.

Ylisse has been invaded.


	6. Defend the Capital

_Before Palutena, Pit, Dark Pit, Robin, and Lucian arrived in Ylisse_

At a small island, just west of the country, Plegia, and east of a smaller country, Valm, it was a desolate, empty area. Sand flying through debris, lifeless trees everywhere, and the grass becoming brown, this small volcanic island was left abandoned when the events after the Ylisse-Plegia War had ended in favor of Robin and her fellow comrades who aided her along the journey. No country wanted to claim the island known as Origin Peak as their own due to the revival of Grima, the Fell Dragon. It was to be that way. That is until a dark portal appeared in the middle of the landscape. Hades walked into Origin Peak and looked at the environment surrounding him.

"Look at this place," the demon gazed at the barren land before staring at the inactive volcano. "It's empty, soulless, bleak, and abandoned… just how I like it."

Hades decided to look around Origin Peak since he already became bored of the island. He flew to the top crater of the volcano and scanned the island for anything interesting. In the beginning, the Lord of the Underworld had not found anything that would pique his interest. Hades sighed in disappointment.

"There's nothing here that can be of any significance," he attempted to scope around one last time. "This place isn't as fun as I imagined. There has to be some…thing."

A mysterious, bright object caught the lower corner of his right eye. He now had more interest in finding out what he had discovered. Hades disappeared and teleported to where the unidentified object was located. The object was just at the bottom of the volcano near where Aversa stood to fight Chrom and his Shepherds from facing the Fell Dragon. Upon standing in front of the unknown object, Hades inspected its content to figure out what it was. It was a skull of a large creature. Its head was larger than a human body. Six holes that were its eyes were seen, three on each side. Massive teeth were seen on its mouth. These were indicators that he had found one of his vessels.

"This is it," Hades was on his knees to place his right hand onto the skeleton's nose, "The perfect puppet to help with my revenge on everyone, what better candidate I could've gotten other than the dragon who despises humans just as much as I do?"

Before he could go any further, the Lord of the Underworld sensed a portal appearing somewhere far from where he was located. He knew who had just arrived in Ylisse. Hades merely chuckled.

"It's stupidly obvious that _they_ show up thinking that I would destroy Ylisse," he then concentrated on his free hand as if he wanted to summon something onto the palm of his hand. "Of course I would!"

He managed to summon a white-colored soul with a symbol resembling a left hand at the center. The demon lord then reminisced how he was 'able' to retrieve Crazy hand's soul. Hades placed the left hand's soul into a portal after his revival. Immediately after entering his portal, the soul of Crazy Hand was never truly lost into some unknown universe. He simply faked the stunt, so that he could take the brother of Master Hand's soul for himself. Despite that, Hades never consumed Crazy Hand's soul. Due to the unpredictability of Hades' new powers from the Master Core along with Master Hand's, it was not stable enough for him to devour more. If he had done it, the demon would have suffered more rather than gaining strength.

"The best thing right now is using Crazy Hand's soul on this skeleton," Hades then pushed the soul onto the forehead of the skeleton. "It will take a while to reanimate this creature back to life. Until then…"

The Lord of the Underworld then waited for several seconds until the skeleton began to shake for a bit. Once he saw that, he knew that the dragon will be revived. Hades also noticed some traces of his magic on the top of its head. As a result, he proceeded to absorb the remaining bits of dark magic. What made it frightening was that Hades did not feel pain nor grunted at obtaining more power for himself. Despite the power being little, it was enough for Hades to replicate the powers that his selected vessel was able to do.

"Let's have some fun tonight!" Hades snapped his right middle and thumb fingers together, causing the ground to have small patches of round, dark voids in front of the demon. The next thing that happened was that those voids then began to erupt but not in an explosive manner. Instead, the liquidated voids had shapeshifted into humanlike forms. They became real, revived from the dead by the powers that Hades took from the skull. These revived humans were from Ylisse but appeared to be different from each other based on how they looked. Some wore slightly bigger pauldrons along with blackarts, gorgets, and shin-guards that went down to their feet. Additionally, those same kinds had large armored-sleeve adorning their left arms with armored helmets. There were others who wore cloaks that consisted of revealing, tight clothing as well as black lace and sewn-in gold. For their hood, they had on dragon headpieces for each Risen who had this type of clothing. Lastly, the remaining others wore cloaks with a bag on their side to steal valuable items for them to keep or give to their masters. They all stared at the Lord of the Underworld as if they serve him as their master. "Welcome, my pets. Now that you are all here, I have a mission for all of you to do… should you accept it."

The Risen all groaned and screamed in a way where they wanted to accept Hades' mission to them. Given their previous roles with the Fell Dragon, Hades was going to follow a similar path.

"I want each and every one of you to kill everyone you see, especially _these_ five," the demon displayed images of Pit, Palutena, Dark Pit, Robin, and Lucian so that the Risen had the faces of those particular targets ingrained in their heads. "I do know where they are going, so I'll just teleport you guys there as close as possible. I'll send those Ylisseans a warm welcome."

With that being said, Hades snapped his fingers again and his minions had disappeared, teleporting to Ylisstol as close as they could in order for the five Smashers to acknowledge that he was ready to start another war.

* * *

The group of seven ran out of the castle. With their weapons prepared, they could not believe what they were witnessing: Risen invading the town before the Ylisstol castle and attempting to kill all the residents. Luckily, they had just arrived at the town while the frontline was defending their people.

"How could there be Risen?!" Lucian shouted in an upsetting tone. He unsheathed his Parallel Falchion and gripped it as tight as he could. "I thought they were all dead when..."

"It can't be!" Chrom grunted in disbelief. "Grima is dead! There's no way he was able to revive Risen."

"No…," his wife said with disdain in her eyes. "Only one person with that kind of power is able to do that, and he doesn't originate in our Ylisse on top of that."

"Oh you are so right, tactician," the playful voice that they despised hearing. Hades then appeared through his astral form far from where he was physically compared to the capital. "No wonder you're so smart like Professor Palutena there."

"I don't have time for talk, Hades," Robin barked back before running to the town to kill off the Risen.

"Rude much," he pretended to be offended by the Plegian's words.

"Mother!" Lucian ran after the tactician. Chrom and Lissa then followed suit, leaving the angels and the goddess at the castle.

"We got to help them," the white angel broke his bow into his blade form.

"Why should you?" The demon questioned Pit as if he was looking down on him. "They think you're some weird moron who can't form his own thought."

"Back off, Hades," Pit coldly told him back before running off to assist with the Exalt and his family.

"Pit!" Palutena flew to chase after her angel but also wanted to help out in the fight.

Dark Pit and Hades were left, facing each other one-on-one.

"So Pitooty-"

"Nope! I'm not hearing your big mouth anymore!" The black angel ran in the direction of the town where the Risen had broken through the residents.

"Why don't they want to talk to me?" Hades acted as if he was taken back by the Smashers' disdain for him. "Did I do something wrong? Of course, I did. I love to see chaos and human death. Let us enjoy another episode of you all fighting without ever catching a break!"

The front line that consisted of Cavaliers and Mages could not handle the amount of Risen that was invading the capital. Due to Ylisse's practice of nonviolence, the number of soldiers in the front was minimal. Several of their men had fallen to Hades' Risen. A wave of the undead began running berserk to kill anyone they happen to see. Once the first line of defense was down, the Pegasus Knights, Clerics, and Priests were then ready to hold their capital city until their very last breath. Risen Fighters and Thieves were the next line of defense as they were ready to shed blood for the sake of their master. The Pegasus Knights managed to hold on their own as they used their spears and lances to pierce through each Risen that were within their range. Several of the undead had dissipated and never came back. It appeared that Ylisstol could defend their own.

However, that all changed when many of the thieves transformed and then had claws as their sleeves. They sheathed their swords and wielded their bow and arrows. The ones who were now assassins had fired their bows at the same time. The Pegasus Knights had their winged beasts get struck by the sharp arrows, causing almost all of them to fall with the exception of two.

"Since when can they change in an instant?!" Cordelia shouted in frustration as she and her Pegasus tried to dodge every arrow possible.

"I'm not sure!" Sumia responded before throwing a spear at an assassin within her sight. Unfortunately, she missed by a whisker before that target began aiming his arrow at her. Then the arrow had struck her Pegasus and fell from the sky.

"Sumia!"

Upon impact of the fall, Sumia was separated from her Pegasus that was gravely injured by the assassin. The same Risen walked up to her with the silver sword on its hand. The assassin raised his blade up before taking a swing at her.

"Arcthunder!" A large sphere of electricity came rushing down behind the second line of defense and shocked the assassin. While the Risen was in stun, Sumia quickly stood up, grabbed her silver lance, and had thrust her weapon through the assassin's body. It then slowly dissolved into nothingness.

Sumia turned back to see that Robin and her family had arrived. She also saw two angels and a tall green-haired figure with them. Glad but confused, Sumia had said, "Robin! Chrom! I'm happy that you guys are here! And… you brought guests?"

"No time to explain," the tactician said before casting Elwind against the wave of Risen in front of her, pushing them back. "Let's deal with these Risen first!"

Robin and Sumia wielded their tome and lance, respectively. The tactician then shot a wave of fire at the same wave of Risen to wall them out rather than killing them. Sumia then waited until the fire spell weakened. Once it did, she ran through the wall of fire and began striking assassins and fighters as much as she could. Sumia managed to kill three Risen, all fighters. After delivering the final thrust to her third Risen, an assassin snuck up behind her. Instead of swinging the sword, the Risen used the rope of the bow and strangled her. However, Chrom ran fast enough to pass his wife and swung the assassin with his Falchion. That Risen had dissipated before Sumia nearly fell down from asphyxiation. Luckily, the Exalt grabbed her arms just in time to save her.

"Chrom! Sumia!" Robin had cast standard lightning magic at a dark mage who nearly shot dark magic at the two warriors. It was enough time for the two to escape before Sumia regained her strength.

"Are you okay?" Chrom asked his comrade.

"I'll be fine," Sumia regained her breath before gripping her silver lance tightly before facing the Risen again. "We have something else more important to do other than my being."

The Exalt nodded before turning back to face the Risen and running towards them. Meanwhile, Robin sensed a fighter sneaking up behind her with the ax in hand. She turned and quickly unsheathed her bronze sword to defend herself. Due to her awareness, Robin managed to block the attack by positioning her blade sideways. She maintained the force of the ax by placing her right hand on the steel of the sword. It lasted only a few seconds before the Risen arched its back and tightened its neck upward. Robin, at first, was confused at how the Risen was attacked before gazing to see a masked swordsman thrusting his Parallel Falchion through the fighter. The Risen then dissolved into nothingness and died.

"Should've known that you would save me," his mother smirked.

"Of course I would always protect my mother when she's in danger," Lucian responded in his normal voice. He then saw that Pit, Dark Pit, and Palutena were coming near them, so the Ylissean had to deepen his voice again. "We must proceed to defeat the Risen."

"Then we shall."

Robin and Lucian then paired up to fight against the Risen that were charging at them, most of them being dark mages and fighters. While they were occupied, assassins and fighters found a brother and sister who fell to the ground. The little girl had tripped on uneven gravel while holding her older brother's arm, causing them to stumble and fall. Two assassins surrounded the siblings with their sword in hand, ready to murder the young children. The boy wrapped his arms around his sister to protect her while acting as a human shield. They both closed their eyes, waiting for their inevitable death to arrive. Then two arrows were shot from a distance, piercing through both Risen, engendering them to be in a stun for a moment. They then looked at who had fired arrows at them. Pit and Dark Pit shot their arrows at the right time; otherwise, those two civilians would have died. Both angels had fired their arrows again, and it struck the Risen through their body, causing them to dissolve into nothingness. Once they were dead, Pit ran to the siblings and was on his knees.

"Are you guys okay?" The white angel reached out his right hand to the brother.

"Thank you, stranger," the boy said as his face still expressed shock from the traumatic experience he had gone through. He grabbed Pit's hand and lifted him and his sister up.

"Run away from here and find someplace safe," he suggested before standing in front of them to guard them against any enemy.

"Ok, thank you for saving us," the siblings then ran away from the battle as far as they could.

* * *

Meanwhile, Dark Pit was busy fighting three Risen comprised of a dark mage, a fighter, and an assassin. His Silver Bow had changed to his blade form similar to his doppelganger. He proceeded to ruthlessly beat up the dark mage who only had a tome. Before he could deliver the final blow, a fighter lunged at the dark angel with its ax. Dark Pit then blocked the attack by positioning his blade in an X formation. As he tried to push back against the fighter, an assassin snuck up behind him to deliver a thrust through his back with its blade. However, Pit fired another arrow at the assassin who then dropped the weapon. Afterward, the white angel then transformed his bow into its blade form while running towards his doppelganger. Pit then lunged at the assassin who has trying to unsheathe his blade. He swung his twin blades in a cross-motion before continuously swinging his blades. Dark Pit decided to kick his enemy's leg, prompting to drop its weapon and lower its guard. He then roundhouse kicked the fighter before switching his blade into a bow and firing a powerful arrow at the Risen's head. It ended up killing it. Meanwhile, Pit delivered the final swing to the assassin. They missed out on the dark mage who then conjured up dark magic and directed it towards both angels. The dark mage then shot the magic spells at both angels who turned to see that they were about to get hit. But then, a transparent, reflective barrier appeared in front of Pit and Dark Pit. Both magic spells were deflected back to the mage who then took both hits from its own magic and died because of it.

"Phew," Pit sighed before turning to see his goddess aiding them just in time. "Thanks, Lady Palutena. You saved our skins there."

"Don't thank me yet," she flew her way to get close to her angels. Palutena then pointed her staff at the other Risen fighting against the others. "There are more at large. Let's make our move! I'll have you two fly this time."

She granted the Power of Flight to both angels who then took flight. Palutena fired a large, circular burst of flames at the group of Risen who were fighting against the Shepherds and other fellow Yliisean soldiers. Several of the undead were engulfed in flames and slowly became incinerated. Chrom, Robin, and Lucian turned to see that the goddess had eased them the trouble of the seemingly countless Risen.

"Figured you guys needed help from me," Palutena teased before firing columns of light at the dark mages who were trying to cast their dark magic. The enemies were pushed back by the waves of light. Before they tried to retaliate, the goddess raised her blue shield and emitted a bright light to blind the Risen while the Ylisseans covered their eyes.

"Hey!" Robin called out who was a bit upset. "Watch with your lights. Are you trying to blind us all?"

"No, only against these disgusting monsters," Palutena defended before she warped to where Robin and her allies were. "I do apologize if my light was too bright, but now is the time to strike while these Risen are vulnerable."

"Hmm," the tactician was a bit impressed to see that the Risen were greatly affected by the goddess' light. "I guess it has its uses."

Before she could use her magic, her son ran towards the Risen and delivered a powerful horizontal slash at each blinded Risen. The force behind his attack was strong enough to kill the blinded enemies. Other Risen such as assassins and fighters that were not affected by Palutena's light began charging at the masked swordsman. Robin immediately shot her Elwind magic. Lucian flipped backward, escaping his mother's magic. The wind magic struck all the fighters and assassin. Chrom then aggressively ran towards them and swiftly slashed several Risen. His son then handled the other enemies that were open for an attack. Sumia then saw dark mages that were a bit further from the Exalt, so she quickly ran to the side. With her agility, she swung one of the mages' back before kicking in the same area. The other Risen saw the woman and tried to cast its dark magic at her. It was too late as Sumia pierced through her opponent's body before dissipating away. There were still more Risen surrounding them. However, a wide veil of light rained down in the area of where they were. While the Ylisseans and Robin were unaffected by the light, the Risen were frozen and paralyzed from it. The veil continued to pour down until the remaining Risen were slowly eviscerated. The enemies in their section were cleared.

"You should use whatever that veil of light you just did there more," Robin turned to Palutena and smiled due to the practicality of her magic. "It can be of good use."

"You're right," the goddess responded before giggling. "But I do like having surprises on my pocket."

"I suppose…" the white-haired Plegian said before being confused with how the goddess responded to her comment. _"I'm sure she meant 'in her kit'."_

"Wait," Palutena realized she forgot about her angels and where they were despite managing their flights while fighting on her own. She communicated her angel through her laurel. "Pit! Can you hear me? Are you hurt?"

Meanwhile, Pit and Dark Pit were handling the assassins elsewhere in the town who were targeting civilians and attempting to murder them in cold blood. The two angels managed to snipe the Risen with their arrows. To ensure safety, they fired multiple shots on one target per enemy. Thanks to Cordelia's assistance, they were close to defeating the remaining Risen in the town of Ylisstol.

"Pittoo and I are fine, Lady Palutena," Pit reassured as he shot more arrows at a Risen near one of the markets.

"Still hate that name, but at least no one here is hurt," Dark Pit commented before firing his arrow at a fighter's head. "Nice headshot if I say so myself."

"What's going on at your current location?" Palutena asked. "We can assist if you need."

"No need for that," the white angel answered. "There are only a couple of these monsters, and we'll save the town!"

"I wouldn't say that if I were you," Hades interrupted after watching the battle he was already getting bored of seeing. "More Risen are still here you know."

"So what?" Pit disbelieved the demon's claim. "Your army of Risen has been nearly destroyed."

"And your point?"

"What is this idiot blabbering on about?" The dark angel coldly remarked as he shot his last arrow at the last Risen in the market area.

"Did you guys really think I would have my army of Risen only in the residential area?" Hades' cruel smirk put the angels in confusion as to what he meant by that. Pit and Dark Pit flew close to where Palutena and the others were.

Soon Chrom realized what the demon meant by his question. He turned to face his castle. His instincts told him that his castle was in danger of invasion. His wife, son, and sister felt shivers run down their spine due to the implications by the Exalt's expression. "Damn you, Hades!"

The Lord of the Underworld merely laughed at the swordsman's lack of awareness for the safety of his castle. "So much for the Exalt who rushes into battle without a plan. Is that why you married a tactician to do all that thinking for you?"

"You do not mock my husband like that," Robin indignantly glanced at the demon before pointing his astral form with her sword.

"What are you going to about it, Robin darling?" Hades teased and smirked.

Robin merely grunted in disgust before running to the castle with Chrom to attack any potential Risen that may be present there. Lissa, Lucian, Palutena, Pit, and Dark Pit followed the couple back to the castle. Because Lissa was younger and slower, Pit hooked his arms under the cleric's shoulders and flew to the castle to make it easier for her. Dark Pit did the same thing with the masked swordsman under the orders of the Goddess of Light. Palutena flew her way back to the castle. Upon reaching the front entrance of the castle, nothing appeared to be evident that Risen had invaded the castle. Attempting to avoid the risk of doubt, the group ran inside. They saw several of their soldiers had fallen against two of the Risen who both wielded a steel sword and a round shield.

"No…," the Exalt said in shock and anger. "It can't be…"

"Surprise!" Hades exclaimed before clapping his hands. "Don't you guys like it?"

"Ignore him," Robin said before shooting Arcfire at both of the enemies to catch their attention away from their warriors. "It's our responsibility, and we'll take it with honor."

* * *

All seven were prepared to fight when the Risen charged at the group. Palutena pointed her staff at them and emitted a large, circular explosive flame to engulf them in it. Chrom, Lucian, Pit, and Dark Pit ran in four different angles to confuse their enemies. After taking the hit from the goddess' magic, Robin immediately had cast two round electrical magic spheres. Both Risen had dodged the attack. However, the first Risen then saw Chrom charging from the side. The Exalt attempted to horizontally slash his enemy, but the Hero Risen blocked the attack with his shield. Lucian then leaped to strike his Parallel Falchion in a downward motion. Unfortunately, the Risen used its sword to deflect the attack. Chrom then tried to push back the opponent, leaving him potentially vulnerable. The masked swordsman then continued his momentum and pierced the Risen through its body. His father delivered the final blow by swinging in a forward but downward angle to kill the first Risen.

Pit and Dark Pit had a better time against the Risen. Pit kept distance by shooting arrows while Dark Pit went aggressive on his melee attacks. Due to the Risen being unable to block all of the white angel's arrows due to their maneuverability, it decided to focus on the dark angel. When Dark Pit attacked in a cross formation, the Risen completely deflected it with the shield, causing the black angel to stumble back. Pit immediately ran and lunged at the Risen with his Upperdash Arm. The strength of his attack sent his enemy upward. Then a cylindrical stream of fire came out of nowhere and the Risen was burned into nothingness.

"Nice work everyone," Chrom praised his group for quickly taking down the stronger Risen with no problem.

"Is that every single Risen killed?" His wife mused before suddenly having this unusual feeling of uncertainty.

"Hey, angels," Lissa ran towards Pit and Dark Pit with her staff. "You guys need some healing."

"Sure. Thanks… Lissa, right?" The white angel had to ensure that he was not butchering her name.

"That's me!" She cheered as she raised her staff to heal the white angel.

"Appreciate it," Dark Pit responded while looking away. "I wasn't hurt or anything, so I don't know why I needed healing."

"You seemed bruised up earlier, so I thought it could help you out," the young princess cheerfully responded as she smiled graciously at the black angel.

The entire group came together to formulate a plan against Hades. However, Robin felt something strange that someone that was not the demon watching them. As the group was talking without her, the tactician began to breathe slower than normal. She closed her eyes to focus on listening to the outside noises. So far nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary. That was until she heard something snap like someone firing an arrow. Robin then realized that someone was here.

"Watch out!"

Robin managed to take out her bronze sword and used it to block the arrow's trajectory at Chrom.

"What was that?!" The Exalt exclaimed.

"One Risen is here…" his wife answered in a calm yet aggressive tone.

Two more arrows were shot, but not from the same area; they were shot from behind. Palutena quickly turned around and summoned a reflective barrier to shield the group.

"Two of them?" Pit shouted as he was fired an arrow in the direction where the arrow was shot from behind.

Then two remaining Risen jumped out of nowhere and began running towards them with their sharper swords in hand. Their running speed was swift, faster than the group had ever seen before. Robin had cast Elwind to stop one of the enemies in track. However, that Risen disappeared before it got hit with the wind magic before reappearing again. Dark Pit fired his silver arrow while running at the same Risen the tactician shot her magic spell at. It side-stepped to the right, but the dark angel swiftly shot another arrow to its leg. The impact caused the Risen to stumble before getting hit with the Electroshock Arm. Pit then fired three light arrows at the chest of that Risen, which was enough for first one to evaporate into nothingness. Chrom ran and took one swing at the last Risen. It disappeared before coming into contact with the Exalt's blade. It reappeared again and was behind him.

"Father!" The masked swordsman rushed to Chrom as fast as he could. With his Parallel Falchion in hand, he gripped it was tight as he could. However, the distance appeared to be not close enough to save Chrom from the counterattack. _"Naga, please save father…"_

Then Lucian saw the goddess warp behind the Risen with enough reaction time to save the swordsman's father. Palutena grabbed the enemy and threw it towards the masked swordsman who then stopped his tracks and swung his sword in a powerful, horizontal motion to deliver the final kill. It was over.

" _Hmm, perhaps I underestimated these people quite a bit,"_ Hades mused as he was entertained by what he had seen. _"I'll just quietly make my way out for the time being. Besides, I have two surprises for them. One is facing their most feared enemy. Two, this city isn't completely safe…yet."_

"I think we got all the Risen," Robin had let out a huge sigh of relief after warning her comrades about the surprise attack from the two undead soldiers who hid in the shadows.

"There are some things that I don't understand," Chrom was not satisfied with his kingdom being invaded and the return of Risen. "Why are Risen here? They were all gone after Grima…"

Sudden rapid footsteps were heard running towards them. It was not one of their mercenaries or cavaliers. It was the last remaining Risen who was an assassin. It jumped past Chrom and positioned its blade to swing diagonally downward at the masked swordsman. Lucian was not expecting another Risen to appear out of the shadows.

"Lucian!" Palutena shouted his name before running towards him to shove him back. She prepared to lift her blue shield to deflect the attack.

However, the goddess was too late. Lucian was struck by the assassin's strike, but something else had happened. The masked swordsman stepped on one of the cavalier's lances and slipped backward. The Risen's sword did hit Lucian, but it did not contact his physical body. The tip of the blade had sliced through his mask, causing it to be separated from the swordsman's face. The hair was suddenly longer than it appeared to be because it was hidden to make it look like short blue hair. Palutena used her shield to push the Risen to the side, causing it to fall onto the ground. She then had cast a circular sphere of fire to burn the last Risen into nothingness.

After the last surprise attack by the Risen, Pit, Dark Pit, and Palutena were absolutely shocked to see that Lucian had broken his mask. His face was revealed, and he was not who he depicted himself as.

"Lucian?" The white angel said quietly as he was confused by his real face.

"Wait, you're… a woman?" Palutena asked as she was stunned to see the face of a woman rather than a man.

The person was silent at first while looking ashamed to be unmasked. This person then looked at Robin who then conceded defeat. She signaled the person to disclose everything since there was nothing they could do at that point.

"And quite the actress, too," the woman responded in her normal, feminine voice. She appeared to sound amazed by reactions of Pit, Dark Pit, and Palutena who all thought she was a man. "Honestly, I'm surprised you didn't figure it out until just now."

"Wait, what's going on?" Chrom asked who was just as bewildered by the angels and the goddess. "Robin?"

His wife pierced her lips, feeling sheepish about how to handle such a situation.

Palutena placed her hands on her hips while expressing discontentment. "You got some explaining to do."


	7. Aftermaths

**Here's a holiday gift for you lovely people! Merry Christmas and happy holidays to you all! Read and enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 7

It was not long after Hades had traveled to Ylisse. The Smashers who were not affected by the demon's rays of light managed to transport the affected ones to the emergency rooms at the resort. They mostly were surprised by Master Hand who was unable to move after sending Pit, Dark Pit, Palutena, Robin, and Lucina to Ylisse in their attempt to stop Hades from causing catastrophe. The right hand was taken to his own room with many doctors and specialists in hopes of reviving him. Meanwhile, doctors and nurses were taking care of the Smashers who had lost their strength. Luckily, the potions, drinks, or ailments from the universes of those Smashers were enough to regain lost strength of those fighters. However, they still felt very weak by the Lord of the Underworld's power. As a result, most of them could only move their arms and speak normally. Despite that, only one person was capable of standing on her own. The bounty hunter was then ordered to rest until her conditions were stable.

"Is everyone in good conditions?" Samus asked her doctor who was reviewing the status of her health. She tilted her head while lying on the bed to face her doctor.

"The ones who were affected by this monstrosity's magic will recover in due time," she replied with a smile. "You guys should consider yourselves lucky."

"I suppose so," the blonde hunter said while her expression remained unchanged.

"Whatever that tyrant did, he only took your physical strength while sparing your life," the doctor's words sounded like she expected her fighters to die by the hands of Hades. "I do not know what was on that monster's mind when he summoned those rays of light. I just hope he gets stopped."

"Five of the Smashers are following Hades as of right now. I trust that they are capable enough to defeat him."

"I do hope so," the female doctor said before completing her checkup. "You have been progressing well, far faster than the others."

"I've been through rough times," Samus simply responded. "Years of training have conditioned my body to handle better than most of the people here."

"Makes sense," she chuckled. "Well, I'll leave you be for now since you're well on your way to full recovery. Please rest well and call me whenever you need something."

"Thank you," Samus said before staring at the ceiling.

Once the doctor left, Samus was left by herself along with the other Smashers who were still sleeping on their beds. She began thinking about the demon lord and his intentions. The bounty hunter wondered the true origins of Hades and how truly powerful he was since she never got the information from Pit or Palutena. Soon her thoughts then shifted to wanting to assist the angels and the goddess in fighting the Lord of the Underworld. However, because of her current condition, the best course of action was to protect the city from any potential danger. She attempted to devise a plan should Hades return to the city. However, a comrade had entered the room to visit one of the injured Smashers.

"Link?" Samus called the Hylian swordsman who then saw the bounty hunter.

He communicated the blonde through sign language. The Chozo woman was able to understand Link well since she also was proficient in the sign language as well.

"How is Zelda?" Samus said as she read her ally's language before responding. "She's fine, still regaining her strength."

Link then walked to the bed next to Samus' and saw Zelda resting with her eyes closed. He was concerned for her well-being because he did not want her to die. His heart sunk when he found out that the brunette had been struck by Hades' ray of light. Link assumed that she was killed. After finding out that she merely lost her strength, the swordsman had a sigh of relief, knowing that she was still alive. He placed his left hand on her left cheek.

"Rest assured, Zelda is in good conditions," Samus told Link in her calm tone. "She will not be in any harm as long as you and I are there for her."

The Hylian swordsman merely smiled since he was glad to hear that someone also wanted to look out for Zelda just as much as he did. He then faced the bounty hunter with the different smile. His spoke through his hands, "I can tell you care for Zelda a lot."

"Of course I do," she admitted while smiling at the thought of the princess on her mind. "I would do whatever it takes to protect Zelda."

"You know, when I saw you holding her face with your hand, I thought you two had some feelings for each other," Link messaged the blonde woman.

"I do not know if Zelda feels that way," Samus responded while still keeping a hard face to decipher. "All that matters is that Zelda is safe."

"Yes," Link nodded. "But I'm sure Zelda cares for you as well. After all, she appreciated you keeping her safe from harm."

The bounty hunter chuckled before feeling a bit warm inside after thinking more about the brunette. Then the Hylian swordsman had a different expression where he was concerned about someone else.

"Do you know if Master Hand is okay?" The Amazonian woman spoke after reading her ally's signs. "I cannot be certain."

"Will he recover?"

"He suffered the worst out of all who were affected by Hades' magic. The specialists told me that he may require more medical attention. It is likely due to that Master Hand used the rest of his powers to allow Pit, Dark Pit, Palutena, Robin, and Lucian to travel to another universe."

"Let's hope that he manages to pull through," Link was worried that the Creator may not survive for long. "Looks like you need something to drink, Samus."

"I appreciate the offer."

* * *

At Origin Peak, Hades walked towards the bottom of the volcano. He wanted to check the status of the skull in his attempt to reanimate it back to life. The progress was slow since the demon only arrived in Ylisse just a while ago. No distinct changes were noticeable other than the skeleton glowing a bit brighter than usual. As he checked the progress of the skeleton's revival, Hades recalled the final moments after he had left the battle in Ylisstol.

"It appears that they know about Lucian being a woman," he merely chuckled by the angels and the goddess' reaction to the masked swordswoman revealing her identity. "Now that they know, I wonder how they would feel when her greatest enemy appears right before her very eyes."

Hades was on his right knee before gazing at the skull again. The demon realized that he was not knowledgeable of the skull other than that it was once a monster. Thanks to the powers of the Master Core, Hades was able to gather data of Robin and Lucina's home. He closed his eyes and concentrated until the information clicked to him.

 _A vision of a head, resembling the skull Hades found, was present in his mind. At first, it was blurry to see. The more focused he was, the clearer image was getting. Eventually, the vision became visible for any living eye to see. The head then had a body, but it was not a human body. It extended as long as the country itself. The vision had wings on its back, closest to the head. Red eyes glowed. A dragon was seen from the vision. In fact, Hades found the skull of a dragon. He was going to revive the beast in due time._

" _The wings of despair, the breath of ruin, you are the fell dragon…Grima."_

 _The vision had ended. Hades now understood whose skull it belonged to. He merely nodded at the sight of the dragon he saw. Everything about him was known to Hades. It went along with his plot for vengeance in the Smash world. He did contemplate for a moment that Grima was going to be the only suitable candidate for his scheme. However, Hades did have a personal vendetta against Pit, Dark Pit, and Palutena. As a result, he devised another plan to reanimate a body of a monster that the angels and the goddess did not want besides the demon himself._

"Oh, this is going to be devastating yet so much fun at the same time," the Lord of the Underworld muttered with a devious tone. He then placed his right hand on the side of Grima's skull. "My dear Grima, I do long to see the horrified faces of them when they see you again because it just makes me happier."

Several minutes had passed since Hades discovered that he found the fell dragon's remaining skull. He knew that his enemies saved the capital without much difficulty. Despite having no success during his assaults, the demon smirked at the thought. It seemed like he intentionally allowed the heroes to easily defeat his Underworld Army and Risen since they posed little threat other than being foreign to the fighters. This time, however, Hades decided to turn up the notch a little. He summoned more Risen than he had previously. Many of them were of various classes, making this army a much tougher group.

"Hello, my Risen," Hades spoke before his army groaned in honor of their master. "What do you say we spice things up here in Ylisse for our little insects?"

His Risen did not object to the demon's orders as they were ready to obey his commands and kill anyone he requested. The Lord of the Underworld laughed due to the loyalty that the Risen displayed for him.

"Listen carefully, my pets. I have a plan that they will not expect. Listen carefully…"

* * *

Inside the castle of Ylisse, the Exalt ordered his remaining soldiers and clerics to aid and heal the fallen warriors who were injured. The casualties were minimal in his kingdom. Despite that, Chrom felt guilty for allowing his stronghold to be invaded by Risen. Additionally, a few of his soldiers were killed by the assassins and warriors who managed to overpower the few cavaliers in his castle. His wife was able to talk to him, saying that it was not entirely his fault. She tried to explain that it was Hades who tried to implant fear into their minds of a potential siege at the fortress. While it did help him feel better, it was not enough for him to feel the burden weighing on his shoulders.

Once everything was cleared and settled in the castle, there was one more thing for the group specifically needed to clarify. Chrom decided that it was best for them to return to the throne room to discuss the matter at hand. Robin and her daughter were feeling embarrassed for hiding Lucian's identity for so long that not even Chrom was aware of it. There was much explaining to do since the group witnessed the unmasking of Robin's daughter.

"Alright," the Exalt started with much confusion on his mind. "What is exactly going on?"

"Lucian," Pit chimed in with just as much bewilderment as Chrom. "Who are you exactly?"

"I'm surprised to see that a woman tried to disguise herself as a man," Dark Pit was a bit curious but also hinted a negative tone to the swordswoman. "You don't see that every day."

"You two still need to explain yourselves," Palutena demanded an explanation while crossing her arms.

"First things first," the tactician began. "Lucian is obviously not my son. She is my daughter. We do have a son, but he's much younger. His name is Morgan."

"At least you cleared up on your family," the goddess acknowledged the information but was not focused on that. She had more attention to the swordswoman who still was silent for the most part. "What is your name? Are you Lucian?"

"My name is Lucina," she clarified.

"Lucina…"

"That's a nice name," the white angel said to Robin's daughter. "It sounds more fitting than Lucian."

"Thank you," the blunette smiled briefly before changing her expression to feel shameful. "But I know that's not why you want to know about myself."

"I know," Pit understood Lucina's statement. "So why did you become Lucian and then disguise yourself as a man instead?"

"…" she initially grunted since she did not know how to explain the reason for wearing the mask and masquerading as a swordsman.

"What's wrong?"

"…"

"Lucina," Palutena said with concern in her tone while keeping a serious expression on her face. "Is there something troubling you?"

"What's so hard about explaining something?" The dark angel coldly said before crossing his arms.

"Pittoo," the white angel called out his doppelganger. "Lighten up, will you? Lucina clearly doesn't feel comfortable talking about it."

"Hmm," he sneered. "She did lie about her identity to everyone, including her father. You should just say it, so we know about it."

"Well…" Pit could not disagree with part of Dark Pit's statement. "You do have a point…"

"Lucina," the green-haired goddess calmly spoke to the swordswoman. "Don't take this as us being aggressive on learning your reasons for hiding your true identity to others, even your father. However, you do need to explain to not just us but also Chrom as well."

"Goddess Palutena," Robin interjected. "With all due respect, Lucina isn't the type of person to explain those types of things about herself."

"I could clearly tell from that."

"I don't suggest pressuring her in owning you all an explanation for this. My daughter should talk about it when she is ready to-"

"Mother," Lucina finally spoke up to the group. "Lady Palutena is correct. I must explain my actions to her and father. I cannot delay the inevitable any longer."

"Are you sure?" Robin furrowed her eyes. "You don't have to be pressured to explain it at all. I could explain on your behalf."

"I appreciate your help, mother, but this is something that should be explained by me."

"If you say so, then I won't object to it."

"About time," Dark Pit spewed out after rolling his eyes.

Ignoring the dark angel's comment, the goddess continued. "Lucina, why did you disguise yourself as a man this whole time?"

"To begin, it all started when mother and I were invited for the fourth annual Super Smash Brothers tournament…"

"It was that long ago?" Lissa questioned, tilting her head in confusion due to where Lucina was going with the story.

"Yes," the swordswoman confirmed. "At first, mother and I were happy to be in this prestigious competition for several reasons. One of them was to meet the Hero-King himself."

"Marth?" Pit asked to confirm.

"What does he have to do with your identity?" Palutena inquired.

"He was an inspiration to me growing up," she explained after thinking about it for several seconds. "I was aspired to become like him as I grew up. When mother and I entered into the Smash World, I was exuberant on meeting the Hero-King and telling him about the aspirations he had given me. However, during our orientation, it was not how I anticipated it would turn out."

"What do you mean?"

"…" Lucina felt uneasy about revealing what had happened at orientation that caused her to be Lucian. She would rather not disclose it because it was something personal to her. The woman closed her eyes, suppressing the emotions she was feeling at the moment.

"Lucina?" Palutena was suddenly worried after witnessing the swordswoman holding back her tears. She felt not only sad for her, the goddess felt bad for being aggressive on knowing why Lucina wore a mask all those years. "You do not need to speak anymore. If it's something personal, then you should not disclose it until you are comfortable."

"But I must," she blurted out, surprisingly not having a single tear in her eyes. "I owe you, Pit, and Dark Pit, and father an explanation as to why I've hidden my identity for so long. This is the right thing to do."

"If you say so," the goddess conceded, not wanting to continue the argument when she wanted to know the masked swordswoman's reasoning for becoming a man.

"Lucina…" Chrom quietly spoke, feeling sympathy for his daughter. He had no knowledge about his daughter's situation since he was unaware of the incident.

"Let's just say Lucina wasn't greeted so well at her orientation," Robin added in the conversation, taking over the discussion

Palutena, Pit, and Dark Pit were slightly confused by what the tactician meant by her statement. They tried to figure out if Lucina experienced trauma or a conflict that made her this way. It was difficult to tell the Ylissean's expression. Despite Robin revealing an unhappy face, it was difficult to tell if she was feeling unpleasant.

"If you must know," Lucina's mother continued. "Lucina had to demonstrate her fighting skills in front of Master Hand, several figureheads, and a small audience. She presented her swordplay very well, probably her finest since she really liked to show her abilities. Lucina trained to perfect nearly every swing of her sword."

"That's some dedication there," the goddess was impressed by Lucina's work ethic and partially smiled because of it. "That clearly would've given you a good impression on everyone, right?"

"I initially thought that was the case," Lucina did not sound particularly pleasant. "It was not an outcome I had expected."

"I'm… still not getting what you're getting at."

"Hold on, so did you not exceed your expectations at orientation?" The white angel wondered since he did not understand what Robin and Lucina were trying to convey.

"No, I performed very well. I was satisfied with my performance," the blue-haired woman answered, giving Pit more confusion that he initially had.

"Then I'm getting more confused than I was before," he placed his hands on his brown hair.

"It was not much of my daughter's performance that was a problem, it's more of how the others felt about it," Robin clarified, which cleared the confusion that the angels and the goddess had for a moment. "What happened then was the reason why my daughter passed off as my son."

"What happened?"

"The executives then informed Lucina that while her swordplay was impressive," the tactician paused before contemplating whether she should continue. After a quick thought, Robin knew that she needed to disclose it. "They flat out told her that she fought and looked like Marth in the most derogatory way."

"What?" Palutena shouted, disliking the thought of a group of a prestigious tournament would ever insult Lucina like that. "How could they say that to her? That's demoralizing!"

"That's not even the end of it," Robin's blood was boiling as the thought was getting vivid. "Because of the way she looked, they had to force her to change her appearance and have a different backstory just so the people would see more original fighters and not clones of other fighters."

Palutena, Pit, Dark Pit, Chrom, and Lissa were horrified to hear the awful revelation. All of them expressed cringe and disgust that such high-status representatives could ever say such things to a woman who was invited to compete. Dark Pit did feel empathy since the way he fought was similar to his doppelganger, which prompted backlash at him for being an unoriginal fighter. Pit refused to believe it was true, but he had to accept it. Lissa angrily crossed her arms while piercing her lips. She hated the thought of insulting someone because of prejudice without even learning about their history. Chrom closed his eyes and grunted in discomfort. He wanted to confront those executives and give them a nice talk about insulting his family. Palutena just could not believe that Lucina had to deal with that horrifying experience. She felt terrible for the swordswoman and wanted to comfort her out of sheer sympathy. Despite wanting to do so, Palutena resisted the urge.

"Lucina, I'm so sorry that this happened to you," the goddess said with sympathy.

"Thank you for your understanding," Lucina showed a little smile because she was glad to hear that people were on her side. Palutena felt a little warm inside because it was the first time she ever saw the swordswoman grin. "As a result, I had to wear the mask, shortened my hair, and change my backstory in order to pass off as a different swordfighter."

"If I may ask, what changes did you make for your background?"

"I prefer to not speak about it," her face revealed despair by the thought of what part of history did she change. "It's something I wish to not disclose to anyone."

"I understand," Palutena closed her eyes, acknowledging that some boundaries could not be crossed.

"To think my daughter and I had to masquerade this false identity for so long," Robin stated aloud, shaking her head in disappointment. "This has been taken a toll on Lucina much more than me."

"Now you all understand where I had this identity from," Lucina spoke up while looking away to hide her face.

"There's no shame in hiding your identity," Palutena disagreed. "We didn't know why you had to act that way back then."

"You're very kind," the Ylissean slightly expressed shame even though she did not have a choice.

The goddess softly smiled, feeling better that she learned more about Lucina and enjoyed viewing her true self. Meanwhile, Robin had to settle one more issue on her own. She turned to face her husband and walked towards him. She felt guilty for not telling the Exalt everything about the situation. While there was not much opportunity to disclose about it on her own time, the tactician believed that she should have told him the minute she had learned about her daughter's cruel circumstance. She was ready to respond to however the blue-haired swordsman reacted.

"Chrom," Robin softly spoke to her husband while struggling to maintain eye contact due to her embarrassment. "I'm really sorry for not telling you about this."

"Don't be too hard on yourself, Robin," he walked up to his wife, standing very close to her. To ease her shame, Chrom lifted her chin up to where their eyes met. "I don't think you should put much blame on yourself. You didn't have much of a choice. Although I do wish that I knew about it earlier when you and Lucina went to the Smash world, I cannot make any judgments. It was not something you could've done in that moment."

"You forgive me that quickly?" Robin was skeptical with her husband's forgiveness. She tried to look away, but Chrom was not allowing that to happen. "I kept this from you for years. You were even confused when I called Lucina our son when we arrived here not too long ago. How can you be so-"

She was interrupted by Chrom leaning closer to press his lips onto hers. The sudden kiss caused Robin to blush slightly for a moment before she returned the kiss back. Dark Pit and Lissa rolled their eyes as if they had seen too many of that. Pit was a bit embarrassed to see a couple kissing mainly because he did not know who Chrom was. Palutena did not mind what was happening. However, she instinctively turned to Lucina who displayed a small smile at the sight of her parents showing affection for each other. As a result, the goddess grinned to see the swordswoman expression something so rare. A genuine smile.

"Charming," the tactician said after beaming from the fact that her husband understood her.

"You overthink things sometimes," he slightly teased her.

"I suppose being a tactician has its drawbacks," Robin played along, which prompted Chrom to chuckle.

* * *

The room fell silent for a brief stint before a member of the Shepherds ran into the throne room. He was a Great Knight with blue armor and brown hair who assisted the Exalt in the Ylisse-Plegia war.

"Milord," the man greeted his comrade.

"Frederick," Chrom acknowledged his presence. "What brings you here?"

"I am here to inform you of the upcoming duel between the khans of Regna."

"Is it that time again?"

"Duel? Like a fight?" Pit wondered.

"To clarify," the Ylisse knight captain continued while a bit skeptical of the angels and the goddess in Chrom's presence. He was not sure if they posed any threat or not. However, he dismissed the thought since he trusted the Exalt and his wife for allowing them to be in the castle. "Regna is another country far different from ours here. They take a more militaristic approach to their lifestyle. In recent times, they have two rulers, but one will always supersede the other."

"Then what's the point of having two rulers if one is above the other?" The white angel asked again since he was curious about this world.

"Listen to the man first, ask questions later," Palutena politely told her angel who then proceeded to listen to Frederick.

"To settle whoever rules Regna, the two rulers known as khan will duel each other in a tournament to decide who will supersede the other."

"If you're wondering why they decide to settle the issue in the manner that they do," Chrom added to answer unsaid questions. "Battle is their politics. They settle things through fighting."

"I've never seen humans have that sort of diplomacy," Pit muttered who was still wondering why those kinds of people believe that fighting was the way of deciding things.

"It's an interesting concept," Palutena admitted while thinking more about Regna's philosophy in her mind. "I'm certain that you are informing Chrom this for a reason."

"There is," Frederick was not going to hide his intent. "Milord, Flavia of the East requests you, Lady Robin, and Lady Lucina to assist her in the battle."

"I see," the Exalt said at first. "We'll head to Regna to speak with Flavia."

"Chrom," his wife interjected. "If you're going to aid her in the fight, then I want to join as well."

"Of course," he smiled. "Frederick, I want you to take charge of Ylisstol while we all make our way to Regna."

"Yes, sir," the captain bowed before stepping aside to let the group exit the castle to set their next destination to Regna.

* * *

 **Author's Note: This was actually difficult to write mainly because of Lucina's reason for hiding her identity. I wanted to write it for a purpose later on, which I won't say because I want to surprise you guys. Hope you all liked the chapter!**


	8. Carriage Conversation

**Hey everyone! I'm very sorry for not updating in some time. The past two months have been a ride of emotions and personal issues I had to deal with. I have returned and will resume the story no matter what! Here is the latest chapter to Once Again. It isn't much to follow up on the story, but I hope you guys enjoy the chapter after being gone for a bit. :)**

* * *

Chapter 8

It was going to be quite a trip traveling from Ylisse to Regna Ferox due to it being located in the northern region. However, the Exalt was prepared for any potential travels to there. As a result, he managed to get a carriage for the seven of them without a problem. It was much better method of transportation than just walking to their destination. The carriage was fairly large to suit the number of occupants inside. It was rectangular and wide for the group to fit in. With that many people to carry to Ferox, the carriage was latched onto two horses. This was to travel faster with weight being equally distributed to the horses. Once the seven were outside of the castle, the carriage was ready for usage.

"Is that a carriage?" Pit wondered.

"Yes, it is," Chrom confirmed as he walked towards one of the Cavaliers who had prepared the carriage for them.

"It reminds me of the Lightning Chariot back home," he reminisced the time he had rode the fastest thing in Skyworld.

"Doesn't look like it'll go as fast as the Lightning Chariot," the goddess added to add humor to the conversation.

"I suppose," Pit slowly agreed. "It feels nice to ride something like that. Reminds me of Skyworld, my home."

Palutena smiled from hearing her angel speak something that reminded him of home. Lucina heard the white angel talk about it, and she also could not help but smile as well.

"Pit," the blue-haired woman asked. "Did you have fond memories of this Lightning Chariot you speak of?"

"Well," he paused, knowing that the memory of the Lightning Chariot was not a pleasant one. "I wouldn't say I had fond memories of it."

"I do not understand," the future princess was bewildered because she was receiving two contrasting vibes from her ally. "You looked happy when my father's carriage reminded you of your carriage at home. Is there something I missed?"

"When I used the Lightning Chariot, I had to save Lady Palutena."

"You had to save Lady Palutena?" Lucina asked to confirm what she heard was correct. "What happened?"

"Well…" before Pit could answer, Chrom signaled to the group that the carriage was ready for transportation.

"Everyone, we are now departing for Regna Ferox," he opened the door to allow them to enter. "Robin, I'll need your assistance for directions."

"Sure," she smiled without even thinking about the request. "We have to update each other what's been happening during this trip."

"Yes, I would like to know how the Smash tournaments have been," her husband was eager to know about his wife's performance at these competitive tournaments. "Everyone let us depart."

Lissa, Lucina, Palutena, Pit, and Dark Pit stepped inside the carriage trying to adjust their position and be comfortable. Palutena, Pit, and Dark Pit sat on one side while Lucina and Lissa were on the opposite side. Once they were settled in, Chrom and Robin mounted on their horses and buckled up before heading off.

"Are we ready?" The Exalt called to the people inside the carriage.

* * *

They all responded that they were prepared for transportation. After acknowledging that, the group had taken off, riding north of their capital to Ferox. While the future princess and her aunt were comfortable, the others were not accustomed to such humanistic forms of transportation.

Sometime after they departed Ylisstol, Lucina still had that curious thought. She still wondered why the white angel was not fond of this carriage when he appeared to be joyed by its appearance. The swordswoman needed the question to be answered just so her curiosity was gone.

"Pit, may I speak to you about something?"

"Sure," he responded. "What's there to talk about?"

"How come you did not have fond memories of your Lightning Chariot when you first saw this carriage?"

"Well…" the white angel had to think about how to answer that question. "I had to save Lady Palutena from her temple."

"I believe you mentioned that before."

"It's hard to say," as Pit recalled the events of that particular moment, he tried his best to not let it get to him. Palutena and Dark Pit noticed but were also in the same position as their white angel. That event was something they wished to forget. Neither wanted to say something since the question was directed to Pit.

"If you don't want to say it, then it is fine," Lucina admitted since she did not want to bring back troubling memories of someone's past. "You should not burden yourself with something you are not comfortable talking about."

"I get that," Pit reassured. "The thing is that you told us why you hid your true identity to everyone, so I figured that telling you about this would make it up."

"If that's what you believe in, then I would not oppose to it."

Dark Pit remained calm and went along with the conversation. Palutena, on the other hand, did not want to be reminded of that event. She was fine with Pit talking about it because he wanted to say it. The goddess had to endure the painful memories of it. While Lucina was not aware of the Goddess of Light and the dark angel's body language, Lissa noticed it. The young healer was not going to say anything since she did not want to upset either one.

"The Lightning Chariot was used to rescue Lady Palutena at her temple," the future princess acknowledged but proceeded to listen to Pit. "Her temple was protected by a powerful barrier, which using the Lightning Chariot was the only way to break and enter."

"Why did you have to save Lady Palutena?"

"She was corrupted by the Chaos Kin who had devoured her soul for 3 years. Lady Palutena turned against the humans she served, causing a chaotic war. I lost my body for 3 years before I came back and got my body back."

"But you saved her, right?"

"I did," he sounded melancholy, which confused the Ylissean princess. "However, the Chaos Kin was not defeated. I only freed her from his control. It then ripped Lady Palutena's soul and escaped into the Chaos Vortex."

The graphic detail of Palutena having her soul ripped from the inside by the tail of the Chaos Kin caused Pit to shutter. The goddess herself closed her eyes and looked away from the group. She did not want the others to see her vulnerability after being reminded of that horrifying event. The group took notice but no one wanted to say anything. Lucina felt terrible for Palutena. She was not expecting a goddess to have her soul ripped away like that. However, the one thing that captured the blue-haired swordswoman the most was how the Goddess of Light displayed emotion. Lucina was not expecting to see that from her. It was not upsetting her. In fact, it made her appreciate her more and wanted to get to know her better.

"Of course, Lady Palutena is saved and protected now," Pit continued. However, the memory of the Chaos Kin's reign of terror still left them disturbed. "I was scared."

Lucina felt remorse for asking her question. She never intended to bring up horrible past memories, which made her feel disappointed in herself. "I'm sorry that happened. I know the feeling of losing someone very dear to you."

"Do you understand?"

"Yes, I do," the memory of Lucina's bad future came back to her. She tried her best to not let it break her down. "Where I come from, I am not actually supposed to live in this timeline."

"Really? It seems like you fit in your world," the white angel tilted his head in bewilderment.

"No, I am from the future."

"That sounds like it's something from a science fiction novel," Dark Pit added, which the others did not take kindly. "However, you aren't the kind to joke around, so I trust your word."

Palutena and Pit were surprised by the black angel's last response. They were not expecting him to be slightly kind towards the Ylissean princess. While the moment was rare, both had to continue on with the conversation.

"What is the future like where you're from?" Palutena asked Lucina.

"It is a terrible future," she admitted, prompting shock from the goddess, Pit, and Dark Pit. "I lived in the future where the Fell Dragon, Grima had been revived. It was an apocalyptic world where I lived with nothing but war and chaos. My father was murdered by my mother in that timeline."

"Wait, Robin killed your father?!" Pit shouted, which Chrom and Robin might have heard the conversation from the outside.

"Pit, quiet down please," Palutena said to her angel. "We don't want them to hear something they may not like hearing."

"I'm sorry," Pit apologized. "I wasn't expecting Lucina's future to have her father be killed by her mother."

"Don't apologize," the swordswoman said with grace. "You do not know about me, and it is the least I could do in return for answering my question earlier."

"I don't know," he disagreed, feeling a bit uncertain if such a comparison held equal weight. "I feel bad that you have to bring that part of your past… or future… or wherever you're from."

"It was a devastating time where I'm from," she spoke while maintaining a firm tone. "Seeing my father's body like that had broken me down because I loved him very much. My people were killed by Risen and the Fell Dragon brought chaos and despair. I nearly had nothing for me. The thought of losing the ones who you love breaks the heart in two. It made me feel lonely."

Hearing Lucina's words reminded Pit when the Chaos Kin ripped Palutena's soul out of her body and dragged Dark Pit down to the depths of the Chaos Vortex. The thought of losing the ones Pit loved and cared for caused him to look down. His arms were shaking and shivered at the thought of had he failed to save them.

"Pit," Lucina called to the white angel. "Are you okay?"

"Lucina," the goddess said on his behalf and hugged his side. "He understands where you're coming from… and so do I."

"You also feel the same as well?" Lucina asked in a surprising tone.

"Woah!" Lissa exclaimed in the same tone as the swordswoman. "I didn't expect a goddess to express empathy like that."

"Aunt Lissa," Lucina tried to warn her because she thought the Cleric offended the Goddess of Light.

"I am indeed a goddess," Palutena laughed at Lissa's remark. She did not seem to be offended by the young girl's comments. The green-haired goddess was rather amused by her reaction. "But like humans, I, too, can express emotion and empathy. Humans are the closest to the gods."

"I don't understand, Lady Palutena," Lucina continued the conversation. "What made you say you're empathetic to Pit and me?"

"Pit didn't explain the events after he saved me," Palutena tried to not express any emotions because she thought she would be seen as vulnerable. "The Chaos Kin was still alive. It became a black swarm and took Pittoo down with him deep into the Chaos Vortex. Pit flew in to save him despite knowing that it would cost him his wings being burnt up. He was saved, but Pit's wings were completely burnt up as a result. I thought… he died." She had to stop for a moment because the vivid image of Pit dead in her arms felt real despite not being actually real. "But there was a way to save him. We went to the Rewind Spring in order to cheat Pit's death. When he came back to life, I was so happy to see him back to his old self again."

Lucina smiled because Palutena recalled that moment when the white angel escaped death's door. The Ylissean princess was glad to see that others felt the same that she did when Lucina lived in her bad future. When the goddess noticed the smile of the future princess, she could not help but be extremely happy to see that expression. There was something about Lucina that had caught the attention of the Goddess of Light. Palutena could not figure out why. She just shrugged it off and continued on with the conversation.

"I can never imagine what it's like to lose the ones you love, especially you, Lucina," the emerald-haired goddess said. "Hearing you experiencing the death of your father and friends had reminded me when Pit sacrificed himself to save Pittoo. Pit means a lot to me and I can't bear the thought of him dead. I wouldn't know what I would do without him."

"I'm glad that you understand my position," Lucina still had that smile of hers that fascinated Palutena. "You're the first person I've met in the Smash universe to ever truly understand me."

"I never thought I hear that," the goddess was surprised to hear that from Lucina yet at the same time she understood why. "I'm glad you're opening up to us. Lucian was so concealed that he didn't want to tell anyone about himself."

"That's still me…" Lucina felt a bit offended believing that Palutena was referring to her.

"That's a bit insensitive to talk about Lucina like that," Lissa expressed a bit of disgust that a goddess would say such a thing.

"I'm sorry, I was only joking around," Palutena defended herself. "Besides, Lucian isn't Lucina. Lucian never existed in the first place because he was only an alibi. Lucina, on the other hand, is a real and much better person. I think I like her."

"Oh, um, thank you," the blue-haired swordswoman slightly blushed. The last thing the goddess said to her made her think about what Palutena actually meant by that. _"What did she mean when she said she likes me?"_

"Pit," Palutena lifted his chin up to see water on his eyes. "How are you feeling right now?"

"I'm better now," he grinned before wiping his eyes with his right arm. "Lucina, I'm glad that you understand where I come from. You're better than Lucian."

"Thank you, Pit," Lucina appreciated the white angel's compliments. "You three have been very kind to me. I cannot thank you enough."

"Anyway to make a comrade smile is all good to me," Pit cheered, prompting the swordswoman to chuckle at his bright personality.

"I can tell that was your goal."

"Everyone!" Robin shouted from the outside. "We're still a bit far from Ferox, but how's everything inside?"

"Everything is fine, mother," Lucina responded. "Pit, Dark Pit, and Lady Palutena have been keeping us company."

"That's great to hear Lucy dear," the Plegian smiled at the fact that the allies were getting close to her daughter and Lissa. "Let me and Chrom know if you guys need anything."

"Will do, mother!"

* * *

Hours had passed since then. The group inside the carriage had shifted topics of discussion such as learning more about Ylisse and the Smash tournament due to Lissa's curiosity. Learning about the other fighters from different worlds intrigued the young Cleric. Lissa now wanted to visit the Smash world and meet them personally. While the five were conversing, Robin overheard the talks and could not help but smile. The tactician adored the fact that her daughter was chatting more than she ever did during their time at the Smash world. Chrom noticed his wife's bright smile and asked why. Once he understood her reason, he was also happy for his daughter trying to become socially better in conversations with people.

After riding the carriage for some time, they had arrived at Ferox at long last. They stopped at the front of the Longfort where it split the border between Ylisse and Ferox. Once there, several Feroxi guards approached the carriage with suspicion. When they realized that the Exalt had arrived for important business, the guards were no longer keeping an eye out.

"Exalt Chrom," Raimi addressed the swordsman. "Khan Flavia of the East has been expecting you. Right this way."

The guard commanded her fellow guards to open the gate into the castle. As the group made their way inside the castle, Pit, Dark Pit, and Palutena were quite intrigued by the environment. Warriors were sparing as if they were fighting in an actual war. The scenery was darker in a sense that if someone were to look at Regna Ferox, they would not get relaxed vibe from it. They could tell that the people were more daunting than the ones in Ylisse.

"They look intimidating… like Magnus kind of," the white angel commented as he witnessed classes of Fighters, Barbarians, and Knights sparing each other.

"They could be of good use than our centurions," the goddess stated in a humorous yet serious manner.

The carriage had stopped in front of the castle. Chrom and Robin dismounted and went to the entrance of the carriage to let the others out. Once outside, the temperature was suddenly different compared to Ylisse. A cold breeze blew through, causing the angels and the goddess to shiver.

"I could use some hot chocolate right now," Pit covered himself while shivering. "It's really cold out here."

"This is the northern region of Ylisse, so it makes sense that there is a significant change in weather," Robin responded. "Let's hurry inside. We don't want to have anyone here sick from the cold."

* * *

Chrom led the group to the castle and stood at the main area. Thanks to being inside a warm building, Pit, Dark Pit, and Palutena felt much better. Inside the castle was fairly large compared to the castle in Ylisstol. Nothing seemed to be different in how the interior was designed. It was not long before a well-toned woman with dark skin complexion walked up to them.

"Exalt Chrom, welcome," Flavia greeted the prince.

"Khan Flavia, it's been a while since we last met," he spoke.

"I believe you have received my message back at your home?"

"About the fighting tournament? Yes, I got the news."

"Fantastic," the woman had a slight smirk on her face, knowing that she was likely to defend her ruling power. She then noticed three strange individuals she never had met before. Flavia was a bit confused mostly because of how they were dressed. "And who might you three be? You guys seem like you aren't from here."

"My name is Pit," the white angel gladly spoke first. "I am a server to the Goddess of Light."

"Pit?" Flavia had never heard such a word be used as a name but shrugged it off. "It's nice to meet you. And server to the Goddess of Light? I thought there was only one god in this world."

"We're not from this world of yours," the dark angel responded in a cold manner. "I'm Dark Pit."

"Are you like his twin brother?"

"No!" Pit and Dark Pit both shouted with such revulsion.

"It's a long story that we have to explain later," Robin clarified to the Khan of the East.

"I can tell," Flavia was well aware based on both angels' reaction. She then faced the green-haired woman. "Now who might you be?"

"I am Palutena, the Goddess of Light."

"So you're an actual goddess? Forgive me. I presumed you were from a royal family in unknown territory in Ylisse."

"Well, that's not the case," the goddess responded. "Pit, Dark Pit, and I come from Skyworld, another universe that we reside in."

"Who would've thought that there's another goddess in this world?" Flavia rhetorically said with a small chuckle.

"Who is this other goddess you're referring to?" Palutena was a tad interested to know about another deity. "Lucina, I didn't know gods existed in your world."

"Naga is our goddess," the future princess explained. "Actually, the more I think about it, you do look similar to her, Lady Palutena."

"I can see that, Lucina," the blonde Feroxi nodded since she agreed with the comparison. "They do look similar in appearance."

"I'm not sure if I should be flattered or offended by that," the emerald-haired goddess felt ambivalent with her being compared to Naga.

"Technically, Naga is treated like a goddess," Robin chimed in to clarify some details. "Naga is a Divine Dragon, a tribe said to be of the rarest kinds. Her role in sealing the Fell Dragon, Grima is why people venerate her as a goddess."

"Interesting," Palutena nodded. "A dragon revered like a god; I've never seen that concept before."

"Anyways, I think the introductions are done," Flavia decided to cut to the point and was eager to get ready for the tournament. "Exalt Chrom, I don't think I need to tell you about this tournament since you aided me the last time."

"Well, my wife, daughter, sister, and I already know the procedure but Pit, Dark Pit, and Goddess Palutena would need an explanation."

"Tournament? Like Smash Brothers?" Pit asked tilting his head and placing his right hand on his chin.

"What's Smash Brothers?" Flavia asked, furrowing his eyes.

"Let's save that for later," Robin responded.

"Explain to us what this tournament is about?" Palutena asked Flavia.

"This tournament is a duel between two ruling khans of Ferox: myself and Basilio. The fight determines which ruler will be in true power over the other."

"A duel to determine who gets to be in power?" The goddess was not much fond of the idea. "I would never expect humans to decide social hierarchy over a duel. It sounds very ancient and not very modern."

"That may be the case, but it is how Ferox has always been since its foundation: physical strength and skill above everything else. We don't need diplomacy to determine who gets to be in power. Your strength speaks louder than words."

"Well, I won't object to it since it's something you Ferox people value the most."

"Thank you for understanding. I already like you, Goddess Palutena. I think you'll be of great assistance in our fight against Basilio."

"What? I'm going to be fighting in the tournament?" Palutena was surprised to hear that Flavia immediately recruited her.

"Yes, don't you want to?" The Feroxi thought the goddess would surely help her in defending the ruling title.

"It's not that I decline your offer," she explained. "I wasn't expecting you to immediately recruit me."

"I see," Flavia expressed disappointment, which confused Palutena more. "I suppose we can still strategize our battle tactics without you then."

"What? I never said I didn't want to join."

"Oh, so you'll join us then?" The dark-skinned woman was a bit elated to hear that the Goddess of Light was going to join in on the fight.

"I'll assist with this tournament," she agreed, prompting Flavia to chuckle happily. "As long as Pit and Pittoo can fight alongside with me, then I'll help out."

"Even better!" The Feroxi woman exuberantly shouted. "With you guys on my side, we'll win this duel for sure."

"Someone's excited to keep their power in check," Palutena teased.

"I haven't held this power this long in ages, so I like to maintain this just a little before that old man takes over."

"I'm glad to fight alongside with mother and father instead of fighting them," Lucina stated aloud, which caught the attention of the goddess.

"You had to fight your parents? Did you get in trouble?" The Goddess of Light added a little playful humor to tease Lucina.

"It's a long story, but if you must know," the future princess elaborated. "I had hidden my true identity the last time the tournament was held. I fought my father while hiding it. He bested me, but it was fine. It's all in the past."

"Speaking of which," Flavia almost forgot about one little detail about the tournament. "I need one of you guys to be my champion."

"Champion?" Pit repeated the word. "Do you mean like the best warrior?"

"Think of the champion like chess," Lucina's mother made an analogy. "The champion acts like the king. It's your duty to protect the king and fight the opponents who will try to take down your king. Once the king is checkmated, then the fight is over. We have to beat the opponents first before taking down the king to increase our odds."

"Robin explained it very well," Chrom praised his wife. "It's in our best interest to ensure that Flavia's champion is not bested by Basilio's champion."

"Who should be her champion then?" Pit asked since he was curious who it would be.

"Hmm, that's a good question," Flavia had to think about it since she was not sure who to select. "Well, I don't mind any of you guys as my champion as long as you are all skilled in combat."

"I would like to volunteer," Lucina said to Flavia, which surprised her father, the most.

"Are you sure, Lucina?" Chrom worriedly asked. "I don't want to risk you getting severely hurt."

"Do not worry, father," she reassured. "I won't risk myself to getting hurt as long as I get to fight alongside you and mother."

"Well, if you're willing to do it, then I won't object to it," her father conceded before smiling since he trusted his daughter's abilities.

"Excellent," Flavia happily shouted. "With you guys as my team in the tournament, we are for sure to win this tournament."

"We can't count out whoever Basilio has on his team and his own champion," Robin cautioned the current ruler.

"Well, they have their regular strong warriors, but we have the Exalt, his daughter, a tactician, a healer, two angels, and a literal goddess on our side, so the battle will sway in our favor," Flavia proudly boasted before thinking over Robin's concerns. "However, I won't count Basilio out. That old geyser got some tricks on his sleeves. Robin, I expect you strategize to victory here."

"I got your back," she gladly said back. "It's time to tip the scales!"


	9. Duel at Arena Ferox

**Back with another chapter. This one is a bit longer than the previous chapters but is for good reason. Read and enjoy! :)**

* * *

Chapter 9

The tournament in Regna Ferox was about to commence. Two ruling khans gathered their finest warriors and their one champion representative for this traditional battle. Whichever side remained standing would prevail as the victors. In doing so, the fighters representing their khan will be granted the ruling power until the next tournament in the future. Flavia currently held the ruling power. Her fellow khan, Basilio, intended on taking the power back. The blonde woman was unsure of her comrade's champion. She did speculate of who it might be, but she did not want to assume that as a fact. However, Flavia was confident in retaining her ruling power because of her roster. She had Chrom, Robin, Lissa, Pit, Dark Pit, Palutena, and her champion, Lucina against Basilio's warriors and his unknown champion. Given that the angels and the goddess were not from Ylisse, the unfamiliarity with their fighting style may give them the upper hand. The location of the tournament was not far from the Regna Ferox. The arena was located just west of the castle. Traveling was of no issue for Flavia and her team.

South from Regna Ferox, Hades returned to Origin Peak to reevaluate his plans. He initially thought to revive Grima and launch a surprise attack in Ylisstol. However, the demon believed that would not be an ideal tactic to go about. Something felt missing. The lord of the underworld wanted more than just the Fell Dragon to cause havoc in Ylisse. This was mainly directed towards Pit, Dark Pit, and Palutena. He thought that Grima was not enough to put fear onto his three most hated enemies. There had to something that would petrify them. But what?

As he watched the reanimation of the Fell Dragon, the progress was going faster than Hades anticipated. Half of its body was nearly restored. Even when the body would be completely reanimated, Grima needed a vessel to act on its own. For Hades, it was not a big deal because he already had that figured out by offering Crazy Hand's soul. Despite that, he was a bit dissatisfied with the progress of his plan.

"So far, things aren't going as planned," he said quietly while looking at Grima. "Though, I shouldn't be surprised that they are with them as well."

He chuckled because of how the angels and the goddess were able to take him down in their world. Now that they all were in a different universe, the demon had to deal with others who were not like the humans back at Skyworld. These certain humans he had to deal with in Ylisse, he knew that they were to be taken seriously due to the strength they possess.

"Grima," Hades walked up to the reanimated dragon and placed his right hand on its fangs. "I must know how devastating you are. I heard some nasty things about you. With this vessel I will bestow upon you, you will not disappoint me. You did bring chaos in the future so bring that in the present."

Suddenly, something had hit him. An image appeared in his mind. It was unclear as the blurriness of the image was hard for Hades to see at first. Closing his eyes, the demon focused on what was presented to him. Soon the image began moving. The blackness surrounding it became colorful yet unsettling. It appeared to be a realm consisting of whirling orange masses with disoriented rocks shaped to resemble buildings. The moving image became a real unidentified object. Hades tried his best to focus on what was reaching to him. His concentration eventually was able to clear the blurred thing. The object was black. However, it did not have a physical form. The object was a black swarm as if its original body was burnt. It was from that moment that Hades knew what the moving image was.

Hades smirked and laughed sinisterly. "How could I forget you? I should have realized that you were still alive after all that has happened to you."

The unidentified object was still vivid in the demon's mind. Seeing that reminded him of what had happened back at Skyworld. The unknown figure did not directly affect him, but it did gravely affect others in the aftermath. Hades felt an exuberant rush because he found another vessel to serve for him. Additionally, he had another plan for this particular figure against his archenemies.

"I do suppose that I have to pick you up there," the Lord of the Underworld remarked while adding a hint of humor in his tone. "Going there isn't pretty anyway. It's scary, unsettling, and chaotic. My kind of taste, but I'm sure they will be glad to see you again."

With that, Hades opened a portal to the realm where this black swarm resided and entered inside.

* * *

Before they entered the Colosseum, Flavia and her team were preparing themselves for the tournament against two ruling khans. Chrom, Robin, Lucina, and Lissa were already ready to get into fighting. They were used to going straight into combat without warning plenty of times before. This was normal for the residents of Ylisse. Pit, Dark Pit, and Palutena were also ready but had no idea how this tournament would run. Due to the fact that they never been to another universe, it made sense for them to be confused of the current situation at hand.

"Everyone, the tournament is going to start very soon," the blonde woman spoke firmly as she could not wait to see her team dueling against Basilio's. "This will certainly be an interesting fight."

"The only difference is that we have Pit, Dark Pit, and Lady Palutena on our side," the tactician answered. "Their way of fighting is very different compared to whoever we're up against. Plus, we know how the angels and the Goddess of Light fight while our opponents do not. By that logic, the tide of battle will sway in our favor."

"Exactly," Flavia boasted. "I'm lucky to even ask the Exalt for representing me in the tournament again. You guys also brought me something even greater."

"You certainly like to retain your position, don't you?"

"Just a little longer," she tried to act like she was enjoying the last bit of fun before losing that privilege. "That old man has had his fun longer than I've known. I just like to hold the feeling of power over him just a bit before I'm content with everything."

"All fun does come to an end," the goddess pointed out to add a little humor to the conversation.

"I suppose."

"Flavia," Pit called to the Feroxi.

"Hmm, what is it, Pit?"

"How does this tournament exactly go? What determines the winner? I just need an explanation."

"Damn, I did forget to mention about the tournament rules," she grunted in shame for forgetting a simple task like that.

"No need to be upset at yourself," the white angel cheered her. "People forget things all the time. Besides, the tournament hasn't started yet, so it's a good thing that I reminded you."

"Indeed, young angel," Flavia chuckled before explaining the tournament rules. "The tournament is very simple to follow."

"That's good to hear."

"Since I have a team of seven, Basilio is likely to have the same numbers. Though, we did decide that having seven members of a team is preferred just so our people can enjoy this tournament. Each team has one champion. The champion has to fight the opponent's champion while we all take down the others. The champion that defeats the other will allow the khan to rule Ferox."

"So it's like last man standing," Pit concluded based on the information he gathered from her.

"For the champions, yes," she then faced her champion. "Lucina, you are the daughter of the Exalt. I know what you are capable of and the skills you've previously shown. Make me proud."

"I will not disappoint you, Flavia," the future princess confidently said. "I will do whatever it takes to ensure that you continue as the ruling Khan of Regna Ferox."

"That's the attitude that I like to hear."

"I know you'll do well, Lucina," Palutena graciously said to the swordswoman, which caught Lucina by surprise.

"Oh, thank you, Lady Palutena. I also cannot disappoint the Goddess of Light if she is also fighting alongside us."

"It's time everyone," Flavia shouted as the doors to enter the arena had opened. "The tournament is about to commence. I want a good, clean fight from all of you. Make me proud."

"I'm going to enjoy this battle against the mortals," the goddess smirked.

"New fighters, a new experience for me," the white angel broke his bow into twin blades.

"For my father," Lucina said with honor.

"Here we go," Robin held her tome and Levin sword to strategize the minute the match began.

* * *

The blonde woman saw her team enter the battlefield. Then she walked her way up to the Colosseum to find her seat where she would meet Basilio. Though she did not think about it, she and Basilio arrived simultaneously and sat at their respective, specialized seats.

"Oh ho! Who is this lovely young woman? Perhaps she's seeking companionship?" He humorously teased his fellow khan. "Is what I was thinking before I recognized it was you, Flavia! Ha ha!"

"Yes, and I thought, 'Who is this sad, crusty old man? Perhaps he is lost and confused?" She decided to play along with the usual conversation. "Before I heard the tired buffoonery and recognized it was you, Basilio."

"I see that I'm ready to take back the ruling power that you took from me."

"As if, oaf," Flavia smirked. "I have gathered the finest warriors for this traditional tournament. Ferox will still rule under my power."

"You sound very cocky, woman," Basilio chuckled by her remarks. "You expect to have this tournament in the bag?"

"I wouldn't have any reason for thinking so," she was not going to hide her confidence. "You think your warriors can stand a chance against who I got, you're mistaken."

"I already know who you recruited as if it wasn't obvious."

"Oh," she feigned surprise. "There's no reason for me to use something that isn't broken."

"Ha!" He laughed at her nonchalant response. "Having Chrom, Robin and Lucina are an easy advantage for you, but that doesn't mean my warriors and champion know how they fight."

"You underestimate me, old oaf," Flavia was unfazed by Basilio's comment of finding counterplay against the Exalt and his family. "However, don't forget that it's a seven-person duel now. I do have some tricks on my sleeve."

"I have fought in many battles," he cackled. "There's nothing in this world that you can throw at me that'll catch me off-guard."

"Then you're in for a surprise."

Basilio had no idea what Flavia meant by that. He thought she was bluffing because she had ruling power and it was getting to her head. It was not going to matter to him that much since he still believed he could take back the ruling power.

"There's my team, old man," Flavia said with a prideful smile. Basilio looked at the battlefield to see where the woman's unit was. It took him several seconds to realize what he was seeing. He was correct that Flavia had Chrom, Robin, and Lucina on her side, which really was not a surprise to him. What really caught his attention were the three individuals he had never seen before. Basilio was not expecting to see two individuals with wings on their backs. He only had ever seen that with Pegasuses. He then saw a tall woman with emerald-colored hair. The vibe he felt was Palutena coming from another royalty based on her looks. Flavia could tell the old man was astonished to see those three foreign individuals. "Didn't I say you were in for a surprise?"

"Who are those three? They don't look like they even belong here."

"Those two angels serve the Goddess of Light, Palutena."

"I could never guess that you find angels and another goddess," Basilio laughed much to Flavia's surprise. "This is quite an interesting match. Where did you even find them?"

"I didn't," she responded. "They came to this world with Robin and Lucina. I'm not sure why they did, but I'm certain it's something."

"Looks like I did underestimate you," he showed some acceptance of defeat.

"It's about time that you start acting like your age, old man."

"Ha! As if!" Hearing that same line made him laugh. "I may look old but my heart beats otherwise!"

"Some things won't change, I guess," she scoffed while keeping a smile.

* * *

At the battlefield, Pit, Dark Pit, and Palutena were quite astonished to see how well-designed the Colosseum was. It appeared to be ancient yet modern at the same time since there were clear signs of renovations throughout its years. Crowds were cheering for the excitement of the occasional tournament that decides the ruling Khan.

"This is quite the sight," the white angel remarked, exuberant that he was going to participate in a traditional tournament in a foreign world.

"Are you nervous, Pit?" Palutena asked.

"Not at all!" He cheerfully responded. "I'm excited to see how we do at this tournament whether we win or not."

"Quite the spirit there," she chuckled. "Though, I would be lying if I didn't think this would be fun."

"As long as you two don't get in my way, then it's fine with me," Dark Pit said with a blank expression.

"Is he always like that, Lady Palutena?" Lucina asked since she was not fond of his response.

"Unfortunately," the goddess faced the swordswoman with an unpleasant expression.

"Pittoo may be a cold person on the outside, but he also cares for people deep down," Pit added.

The black angel said nothing and nodded to acknowledge his doppelganger's statement about him.

"That's good at least," the Ylissean princess unsheathed her Parallel Falchion. "It's time for the tournament. I wish you all the best of luck."

"Same to you, Lucina," Pit said before fusing his twin blades to become a bow.

"Do your best," the goddess gripped her staff was stood still without anything that could strike fear to her.

"I wonder who our opponents may be," Robin muttered to herself.

"Something on your mind, Robin?" Her husband walked up next to her.

"Basilio's team and champion haven't arrived on the battlefield," the tactician felt uneasy because she felt something amiss was going to happen. "I wonder…"

The next thing they knew, a band of warriors appeared from the opposite side of where they stood. At first, the seven could not get a clear image of the opposing team. As they got closer to the circle in the middle, their appearance was now distinguishable and obvious to see. Pit, Dark Pit, and Palutena did not know who they were, but for Lucina, Robin, Chrom, and Lissa, they were surprised to see who Basilio recruited.

"Hold on, aren't they…"

Basilio's team of seven consisted of comrades who helped and joined the Shepherds during and after the Ylisse-Plegia war. Six of them comprised of an archer, a dark mage, a merchant, another dark mage, a manakete, and a Taguel. Their champion, however, was a Myrmidon who was once the former champion of Basilio before Lucina defeated him years ago. He stood as reserved as he could before staring intently at the Ylissean princess.

"We have to fight our comrades," Chrom stated while feeling a bit uncertain if he wanted to fight them.

"We don't have a choice, Chrom," his wife responded with the same vibe. "All we have to do is disarm them and take them down."

"You're right," he nodded before wielding his Falchion. "Besides, we're here to fulfill Flavia's wish to maintain her ruling power."

"Lucina," the tactician had her right hand on her daughter's left shoulder. "Please do be careful. Don't get seriously hurt."

"Do not worry, mother," the swordswoman calmly responded with a smile. "I won't be reckless in this fight. This is for Flavia, and I will fight for her honor."

"Good," Robin smiled before hugging her on the side. "Try not to be too aggressive like your father."

"I heard that," the Exalt deadpanned.

"You were supposed to," she teased before the family all chuckled together.

Palutena could not help but be fascinated by Lucina's genuine smile and laugh. The goddess had that same feeling from before. She had no idea what was causing her to feel like that, but she shrugged it off again.

"I want a clean fight from both sides," Flavia shouted to the competitors in the arena. "The champion that triumphs will have the khan representing them as the victor. Without further ado, let the battle begin!"

* * *

The match had begun. So far, no one was going to make the first strike. Palutena decided to give the opponents a surprise by shooting multiple blue orbs from her staff at all seven of them. However, the opponents evaded the projectiles. Before they could react, Pit and Dark Pit fired their arrows to force them to act immediately.

"Who are those three annoying pests?!" Tharja angrily shouted.

"They seem like they don't belong here," Panne responded before holding a beaststone on her hand. "I'm not sure if they are associated with the Exalt, Robin, Lucina, and Lissa."

"While the foreign individuals do allow us to test our combat experiences at hand," Virion flamboyantly spoke. "I can't help but be stunned by the woman with hair that sparkles emerald. Her beauty glistens tantamount to the goddess Naga herself. Her dress is magnificently eloquent that even the finest of man could not resist such gracious wear."

"Now it isn't the time for such talk," the champion commanded his teammate. "No matter how tough they are, you fight and nothing more."

Virion sighed by his serious demeanor. "Sometimes, a man has to admire such beauty before getting ready to fight." The blue-haired archer then fired an arrow at the dark angel who then deflected it back with his Guardian Orbitars. Virion was not expecting a reversal. However, a dark mage pulled him out of the way to escape his own arrow.

"Don't just stand there, move!" Tharja pushed him before conjuring up a beam of electric magic. She then fired at Palutena. However, the goddess summoned a rectangular reflective barrier to deflect the magic back at the dark mage. Tharja quickly jumped to the side to escape her own magic. "What the hell is she?!"

"Hmm, interesting," Basilio was rather impressed than upset at Flavia's advantage with the angels and a goddess's fighting styles differ starkly from everyone else in the arena. "A person who can reflect attacks at her own will?"

"I never knew she could do that," the blonde woman was just as astonished as her fellow khan. However, this made her intrigued by Palutena, Pit, and Dark Pit's capabilities. There was so much that they had yet to unveil.

Chrom, Pit, and Dark Pit ran at the opposing group while the rest were behind them in case something was to happen. Anna and Panne were the frontlines while the others stayed back to shoot tomes and arrows to keep them away. The champion stood still where he was as his eyes were focused on one person. Henry and Tharja had cast fire and thunder magic at the Exalt and the two angels. The three evaded the magic attacks but were far opposite from each other. The next thing they knew, Anna and Panne were running at them. The taguel charged at the angels. She leaped at Dark Pit who rolled to the side to escape her bite. Pit broke his bow into twin blades and ran at Panne. Because she had to turn around, the white angel managed to get the first hit by swinging his blades at multiple angles. The black angel ran to the side in his attempt to use his Electroshock Arm. However, a ball of fire had struck Dark Pit's body, causing him to extinguish the flames on his torso. Then a ball of thunder was shot but targeted at Pit. Without his knowledge, the projectile was coming closer to touching him. But, a reflective barrier was summoned behind him, sending the ball of thunder back at Tharja. Afterward, Palutena rammed Panne with her shield, sending her back a bit of distance.

"Thanks, Lady Palutena," Pit gave his gratitude. "I didn't realize someone was trying to attack me from behind."

"Don't want to get you hurt now," she smiled before standing behind him back to back. "We don't get to fight together often, so don't let me down."

"I'll never disappoint you," the white angel smirked before fighting against the taguel.

"That woman is getting on my damn nerves!" Tharja was getting frustrated. "Just who the hell is she?!"

"Now that's no way to treat a fine eloquent woman in front of her presence," Virion stood alongside his lady, preparing to use his bow and arrow.

"You are such an insect sometimes," she was annoyed by his flirtatious remarks towards the Goddess of Light.

"Though no one will be as remarkable and beautiful as yourself," he said before firing an arrow at Palutena. Tharja blushed realizing that Virion only had eyes for her.

The goddess blocked the arrow with her shield and fired multiple blue spheres at the couple. Unfortunately for her, the dark mage negated the attack with her thunder spell. Meanwhile, Panne leaped at the white angel while curling herself in a ball. She collided with Pit's weapon but the force behind her attack caused him to fall back. She then was on top of him, trying to bite his head off. However, Dark Pit used his Electroshock Arm to push her out. Pit got back on his feet, switch into bow form to shoot multiple arrows at her. The dark angel also shot silver arrows to keep the taguel from getting closer.

Meanwhile, Chrom had to fight Anna while Robin, Lissa, and Lucina had to deal with Henry and Nowi. The Exalt swung as quick as he could against the merchant. Unfortunately, the red-haired woman easily maneuvered every swing Chrom threw out. Henry shot dark magic like Nosferatu and Waste against Robin and Lissa. Thankfully, the two managed to escape the predictable dark magic and retaliated. The tactician released a strong wind spell to make the young male cover his eyes. The swordswoman then ran towards Henry to deliver a spinning attack on him. However, a green orb of magic was traveling towards her, so Lucina stopped on her feet and pulled back.

"No one is going to hurt my Henry!" Nowi playfully shouted while in her dragon-like form. She shot another projectile at the Ylissean princess, forcing her to distance herself between the two. "That's right, stay back!"

"Reexcalibur!" Robin unleashed a much more powerful wind spell to blow back the manakete and dark mage. This was their chance to fight back. "Lucina, Lissa, now's our chance!"

Both nodded in acknowledgment and all three ran towards Henry and Nowi. As they got closer, the two recovered from the spell and retaliated with a cylindrical shot of fire and a green orb of magic. Robin negated Henry's magic with a similar spell but using thunder spells instead. Lucina and Lissa evaded Nowi's shot before getting closer to the manakete. The swordswoman took the lead by thrusting her Parallel Falchion. Nowi barely escaped the blade. What she did not expect was getting hit by an ax by a Cleric.

"Don't count me out!" Lissa smirked as she had a bit of a hard time lifting her ax. "I may be a young girl, but she can also put up a fight!"

Before she could swing, a shot of thunder came at her, striking her body. Lissa was stunned and fell down. Nowi then was going to bite the blonde girl until Lucina immediately ran to her aunt and guarded her. She then blocked the bite by holding her sword horizontally. Lucina's strength was able to withstand the increased physical strength of Nowi's manakete form. Lissa managed to get up, lifted her ax, and threw at the dragon, causing it to fall down.

"Aunt Lissa," Lucina stood in front to protect her. "Are you injured?"

"I'm fine," she casually responded. "Just a little shock, nothing serious. Besides, I can just heal myself."

"That's a fair point," the Ylissean focused on her surroundings to ensure that no one was targeting them except for Nowi.

Then an arrow came at them at such incredible velocity. Lucina instinctively tackled Lissa to dodge it. Had she not done that, the arrow would have pierced through the blue-haired woman's right arm.

"What was that?!"

"Virion nearly shot us with his sneaky archery."

"Oh travesty," Virion spoke in a theatrical tone as if he was about to die because he was on the ground. "I thought I could redeem myself in this challenging battle by performing a game-changing play. But alas, I was defeated at the hands of a gorgeous woman who shines brighter than Naga herself. I cannot allow the final curtain to fall. It would be tawdry to fight on like this. Instead, I shall make a dignified exit."

Pit and Dark Pit managed to hold on their own against Panne. She was struggling against their fighting styles. The white angel would fight at close range while the black angel was at a distance. They would swap positions just to keep the taguel from fighting. Palutena joined in after easily defeating Virion. She would mostly keep herself at a distance and sometimes ram Panne with her shield when necessary. It seemed like the battle was swaying into their favor.

That was until the champion snapped his fingers, prompting mostly everyone except Panne to retreat near the champion. They formed a line like a barrier to protect the champion. Flavia's team was bewildered by the sudden peculiar behavior of Basilio's team. Due to this odd phenomenon, everyone had their attention onto the four who retreated. The remaining members all fired projectiles. Anna shot multiple arrows, Henry had cast dark magic, Tharja summoned a powerful gale around her opponents, and Nowi shot fire to create a wall in order to distract them from something. By doing so, Panne was ready to fight back now that no one was focusing on her. She ran past the angels and the goddess who immediately felt shameful towards themselves for letting their guard down. The taguel was charging towards Lucina at an incredible pace that most of the team would not be able to react in time.

"Lucina is in trouble," Pit stated as he transformed his blades into bow form. He focused on aiming at Panne's legs in order to stop her from colliding with the swordswoman. There was only one issue. "She's running too fast. I can't get a good aim."

"Then let's double our odds," Dark Pit responded by aiming his arrow at Panne's legs as well.

"Both of you try your best," the goddess said before gliding in Panne's direction.

"Lady Palutena," the white angel was astounded to see his goddess taking action all of a sudden. "What are you doing?"

"Don't worry about me," she communicated through the laurel. "I think I know who this creature is targeting, and the others aren't aware."

"Are you sure?" Pit was becoming a bit worried that he might miss his shot and hit Palutena instead. "I don't want to miss and hit you on accident."

"You won't," she sounded confident in her response. However, she underestimated how fast Panne ran and was within proximity to ram the future princess. "Pit, Pittoo, fire now!"

Dark Pit shot without hesitation while Pit hesitated at first before following her order. Palutena then had teleported in order to save Lucina from the taguel. When the swordswoman heard something running towards her, she turned to face it and saw Panne charging at her. Her instinctive response was to grip her sword close to her while the tip of the blade was pointing at the taguel. Sadly, she would be too late because the taguel was already close to her.

But then, the Goddess of Light appeared in front of Lucina and rammed Panne with her shield. The sheer impact of the collision engendered both of them to stumble backward. The arrows shot by Pit and Dark Pit did strike the taguel's back, causing her to fall to the ground. The goddess collided with the swordswoman, and both women fell onto the ground. Palutena quickly tried to get up but had her hands planted on the ground between Lucina's head.

"Lucina," she spoke with a bit of worry. "Are you okay?"

"Yes, I am because you saved me," the blue-haired woman smiled. "You have my gratitude."

Palutena froze for a moment because she saw that smile of Lucina's again. She was still fascinated by the genuine expression that she hardly ever saw the Ylissean express but still found it intriguing. The goddess had no clue where the strange feeling was coming from, but she was not complaining about it right now.

"Lady Palutena," Lucina said to snap the green-haired woman from being mesmerized. "We still have a match to win."

"Oh," she pretended that she had forgotten all about that. Palutena allowed Lucina to get up. "Forgive me about that."

"It's quite alright," Lucina responded with grace. "I still have to face their champion. I've beaten him before; I shall do it again."

"I believe in you."

The battle has now shifted back to neutral. No one was at the advantage. Basilio's unusual tactics have helped them escape their weakness for a moment. The real battle is now about to happen.


	10. Still More Fighting

**Another update for this story. Apologies for the late update. I just been busy with taking care of some personal things in life while also working on another story along with it. But hopefully this chapter will make it up for it. Enjoy! :)**

* * *

Chapter 10

"Robin, do you have any idea what their plan is?" Her husband asked after witnessing Basilio's champion command his comrades to retreat in a barrier formation. Chrom firmly gripped his Falchion and focused on his opponents in order to spot any potential attacks they may initiate.

"I'm not sure," she responded, sounding disappointed in herself for being unable to figure out Basilio's gameplan. "What I can decipher from this is that they are trying something different from their usual battle tactic."

"It's best to be mindful of our surroundings," he guessed based on the information he was hearing from his wife.

"That's right," the tactician nodded. She opened her wind tome, emitting misty gale wind. "Please be careful everyone."

"I won't be too reckless," Chrom said.

"Mother, I will be mindful of our opponents' strategies that may catch us off guard," her daughter responded as she held her Parallel Falchion in a diagonal position. "I will not let their tactics get the better of us."

"That's my daughter," Robin smiled.

"I like to hear that from my Lucina," Palutena instinctively said without realizing it.

"Oh, thank you, Lady Palutena," the swordswoman was surprised to hear the goddess say that to her. She smiled again and felt a slight blush on her cheeks. _"She has been very nice to me ever since I revealed my true identity. Why is that so? She usually isn't this nice to me before."_

" _Why am I like this to Lucina? I'm getting this strange feeling inside. I don't know what it is, but it's getting stronger by the minute,"_ the Goddess of Light thought as she tightened the grasp of her staff.

" _Lady Palutena has been giving more attention to Lady Lucina for some time,"_ the white angel pondered, holding and aiming his bow at his opponents. _"I'm not sure why though. However, Lucina is such a humble person. But I thought Lady Palutena's views on humans would-"_

"Now commence phase 2!" The Myrmidon directed his allies to initiate the so-called second part of the fight. He positioned the tip of his sword at his rivals.

Anna and Virion began to shoot their arrows but not at the Shepherds. They shot them upwards, which bewildered the heroes because the strange attack. Once the opening was present, it was time for the mages to strike.

"Now die!" Tharja shouted as she summoned her thunder tome and shot a large electric ball at the heroes.

"I'm gonna kill you!" Henry sinisterly yet happily screamed as he had cast multiple blobs of green slime beneath all of the opponents.

"Everyone, watch out! The dark magic will consume you!" Chrom shouted as he pushed Robin out of the way while escaping his own.

Dark Pit leaped away from the Mire spell. Pit ran to Lissa, held onto to her, and lunged forward to avoid the poisonous magic. Palutena quickly flew to Lucina who actually could evade on her own. The green-haired woman managed to grab the swordswoman's hand and teleported elsewhere thus escaping Henry's magic alongside with Tharja's spell.

"Damn it!" The dark mage woman said with frustration. "Those foreign people are making our tactics ineffective!"

"You can't always expect everything to work out at all," Henry responded while still smiling. "That's what makes fighting fun!"

"Whatever," she scoffed. "I'll make sure that everyone except Robin will be vexed."

"Okay!"

"Robin, are you alright?" Chrom gently lifted his wife while watching the enemies.

"I'm fine," she sounded like nothing happened to her. "Thanks for saving me."

"I can't let you get hurt," he responded as he stood in front of her and pointed his Falchion at his opponents. "We can't let our tactician fall down in battle."

"Not at all," she played along. "Otherwise, Flavia would be upset at us for failing to maintain her power."

"Lissa," Pit held out a hand to the Cleric. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," she said grabbing the white angel's hand. "Thanks for saving me!"

"No problem," Pit replied with a smile. "How else can you heal us if you're hurt?"

"You're right. I got to be more careful. Thanks, my heroic angel!"

"Wait, huh?" Pit was surprised to hear Lissa say to him, causing him to slightly blush.

"Oh, I'm sorry," the young girl blushed, feeling sheepish about what had just happened. "I thought I could poke some fun, but I didn't think I'd embarrass you."

"Don't worry about it," he smiled. "I did save you after all."

"That's right!"

"Hey!" Dark Pit shouted to his counterpart and the Cleric. "We still got foes to beat!"

"What do you say, Lissa, we team up and take these guys down?" Pit suggested to his new ally.

"If only you protect me, then I'll heal you along the way," she sung to tease him a little.

"Consider it done."

"Lucina, you're not hurt, are you?" Palutena asked the swordswoman in a worried tone.

"I don't have any injuries, thanks to your aid," the Ylissean spoke while showing that precious smile that the goddess was fascinated with. Lucina then realized that Palutena was still holding her hand. "Um, Lady Palutena. You can let go of my hand. I can fight on my own."

The Goddess of Light just acknowledged that she still held the Ylissean princess's hand. She immediately dropped her hand and blushed. "Oh, I didn't know that I was still holding your hand. I just had to make sure that you weren't hurt is all."

"I'm grateful that you would save me from that dark magic," Lucina said with a smile. She then stood in front of the goddess and held her Parallel Falchion in a diagonal position. "Shall you grant me permission to protect you as you have done for me?"

"Yes! Of course, you can," Palutena's quick and overjoyed response shook Lucina. She was not anticipating the green-haired woman to be so willing to let the swordswoman protect her. Although Palutena did save Lucina from the Mire spell, the future princess wondered why the goddess had been focusing on her so much lately. "Just… don't go overboard, alright?"

"I won't."

* * *

Virion and Anna, this time, shot their arrows at Pit and Dark Pit. In response, the angels summoned their Guardian Orbitars to deflect the arrows back at them. Nowi then ran towards the angels and used her Dragonstone to transform into a manakete. She continued to fly towards them. The rest of Pit's comrades tried to assist, but they were caught by Henry and Tharja's spell that created a fiery wall between them. Next, Anna and Panne initiated their attack against the Shepherds. The Taguel transformed into her beast form while the Trickster sheathed her blade. She charged towards Chrom and Robin who then leaped to the left to escape from her headbutt. Once they got up, the red-haired woman ran at the two to strike. However, her attack was intercepted by Lucina who blocked the sword with her own Falchion.

"Mother! Father! Get up!" Their daughter shouted as she held off against Anna.

"How cute that the daughter of the Exalt would protect her parents," Anna smirked as she pushed harder to force Lucina in a bad spot.

"If anything were to happen to them, then I will have no choice to but to fight back!" The Ylissean used all of her might to push the merchant back.

"Woah! I forgot the strength you have," Anna admitted while holding against Lucina's power on her own. "But still, I got some tricks on my sleeves."

"What you don't realize is that I, too, have some tricks as well," Lucina smirked, causing Anna to be confused for a moment. "Lady Palutena, now!"

"By the divine light, take this!" The goddess summoned a large and powerful bright ray targeted at Anna. Lucina immediately dropped back, forcing the merchant to stumble before looking up at Palutena's Light. The red-haired woman quickly jumped back to escape the ray. The impact of the goddess's light engendered a smoke where the half side of the fiery wall was difficult to see, for Anna, Tharja, and Panne.

Robin saw a silhouette from where she was standing. She opened her thunder tome and was ready to counterattack. A powerful, cylindrical electric magic was emitted from the tactician. She shouted, "Thoron!" Thanks to the smoke screen, Anna could not figure out where the attack was coming from. As a result, she was hit and was sent back very far.

"Nice shot, Robin," her husband praised her while standing to her side with the Falchion on his hand.

"Thanks," she replied. "We still got to be careful. It's too hard to see where our opponents are."

"Right. As long as we are all close together, we will win this battle."

"I've had enough of this!" Tharja irritatingly said as she summoned a wind spell to clear the battlefield of smoke. Because of this, the field on their side was visible again. She then conjured up a dark spell that would drain energy from any target one chooses. The mage decided to target Lucina and the shadow of Nosferatu was steadily crawling its way to the future princess.

"Lucina! Watch out!" Palutena called her name as she flew towards the swordswoman. As she glided to her, the goddess realized that she would not be able to reach to Lucina on time. Instead, she summoned her ethereal wings and swung them in the direction where the blue-haired woman stood. The force produced strong winds, engendering Lucina to be pushed forward, thus Tharja's Nosferatu to miss. By doing so, the goddess then pointed her staff at the dark mage, thinking she was going to get hit by a ray of light. However, a blazing orb appeared in front of her only to grow bigger until it stopped after several seconds. The heat caused Tharja to fall back.

Anna somehow furtively moved her way close to the swordswoman before she tried to surprise her with her sword. However, a small electric jolt was shot behind the merchant, stunning her for a brief stint. Then, Chrom ran to the side to strike Anna with his Falchion. A hit on her side was enough time for Lucina to escape her situation.

"Who is this woman and how is she able to cast magic like that?" Tharja wondered before turning a page for a healing spell. However, when she moved her arm, she felt tingling pain and stopped her arm movement as a result. "What the hell? Her flame spell didn't look that strong, but it burnt me to a point where I can't move my damn arm. It doesn't even look like I got burnt marks. Just what is she?"

"Lucina, are you ok?" Her mother asked as she went to check any wounds the swordswoman may have.

"I'm fine, mother," Lucina reassured. "No major injuries on myself."

"Ok," Robin smiled before the two stood up.

"Lucina," Palutena flew towards the future princess and her mother. "You weren't hurt by the magic, were you?"

"Thanks to you, I was not hit by the dark magic," she slightly smiled and bowed to the goddess.

"Do be more careful," Palutena asked while grinning at Lucina's expression again. "I-we don't you to get hurt."

"I will do my best."

* * *

Meanwhile, Chrom and Anna were sparring against each other. After dancing around each other's sword swings, the merchant was managing on her own despite getting struck by her opponent's sword on her side. As the fight continued on, Anna began stepping back further away from the Exalt. Chrom did not realize that the Trickster was not going to attack with her sword. Instead, she decided to use her bow. Once there was a considerable distance between the two, Anna took out her bow and shot multiple quick arrows at the Exalt. Instinctively, the swordsman dodged every move but had to leap back. Anna was aiming near Chrom's legs, so he had to move back to avoid getting hit. Because of this, Anna had a staff and used it to heal herself. All of a sudden, the Taguel landed a surprise hit on Chrom who was knocked forward.

"Hey!" Tharja shouted at her comrade. "I need some healing, too!"

"Sold!" She chirped as she ran towards her teammate. Robin and Palutena shot their fire spells respectively at Anna. Unfortunately, they missed and Anna's furtiveness allowed her to heal the dark mage of her burns.

"Father!" Lucina shouted as she ran to aid the Exalt.

"You're not supposed to be involved in this, human!" Panne snarked as she rolled to Lucina. The swordswoman held her weapon close to her to embrace the attack. The impact of the Taguel's attack was strong enough for Lucina to be swept off her shoes. Chrom immediately ran to strike back. He jumped upward and vertically slashed her back with his blade. The attack caused Panne to stumble and fall down to her legs.

"Need a little help. Now!" The Taguel grunted in pain.

"Another one!" Anne had cast healing magic onto Panne. Right as Chrom and Lucina were about to strike, the Taguel escaped by rolling away and returning with her comrades.

"Looks like we're back to square one," Lucina said as she pointed her Parallel Falchion at her opponents.

"Don't give up everyone," Robin held her Levin sword on her right hand while holding her tome on the other hand.

"Anna, we still have to get that annoying green-haired hag out of the way," Tharja said with disgust as she drew more dark magic from her tome.

"I totally get that, but we can't win if it's just the three of us," the redhead expressed despair since the battle was not getting anywhere.

"Whoever those three new foes are, they are to not be reckoned with," Panne said as she scratched the surface with one paw. "If our champion could stop standing there and watch Lucina and fight instead, we would have a better time in this battle."

"…"

"It's time to come out and play…Lon'qu!"

"It would change up the plan, but perhaps this can help out the odds," the Myrmidon firmly spoke as he slowly walked in front of his allies. He gripped his sharp Killer Edge and slowly raised his weapon. The tip of the sword was pointed at the future princess, which Lucina noticed. "You guys know your role: handle the others while I must settle the score against the Exalt's daughter."

"Just be careful with yourself," Tharja said before turning several pages to find a fire spell.

"I'll be alright."

* * *

On the other side of the fiery wall, Pit, Dark Pit, and Lissa were handling their own against Nowi, Henry, and Virion. During the Exalt's fight, Pit and Dark Pit were bombarded with many projectiles sent by the manakete, dark mage, and the archer. Because of that, they could not retaliate with their own arsenal. Despite being in trouble, the white angel was also watching over Lissa because he refused to let her get hurt at all. Eventually, Henry ran out of his thunder magic, so he had to search in his robe for more tomes.

"What's wrong, Henry?" Nowi asked in her dragon form while watching over her opponents.

"Just need to find a tome to burn them alive and see their real flesh," Henry cackled as he finally pulled out the fire tome.

"Uh, ok do what you got to do."

"Lissa," Pit stood in front of the Cleric while holding his Twin Blades. "You're not hurt, are you?"

"I'm fine," she was a bit disappointed in herself for not being able to fight much. "Thanks for protecting me."

"Don't thank me yet," the white angel replied before taking a step forward. "Lissa, I have a favor to ask you."

"Tell me and I'll do it."

"Can you fight besides being a healer?"

"I would, but I don't have my ax with me," she said. "It's behind me but if I go for it, I might get hit."

"Well, I got a solution then," the heroic angel turned to face the Cleric and handed her his Twin Blades. "Take these. Do you know how to fight using blades?"

"Just competent enough," Lissa took the swords while dropping her healing staff. "They feel pretty light."

"But sharp and strong," Pit smiled before unsheathing a dark blue gunblade known as the First Blade. "I entrust you with it for this battle."

"Thanks, but what about my staff?"

"Let me hold onto it. I got an extra hand to hold," he held out a hand to Lissa.

"Do you know how to use it?"

"I don't, but if any of us need healing, then I'll hand it to you."

"But how? I don't have a third hand for it."

"I did forget one thing about my weapon. Fuse the hilts together to make a bow. Once it's ready, you can fire at will."

"Oh," she sounded excited and immediately combined the swords to transform her weapon to the Palutena Bow. "This is so cool! I can't wait to snipe some people. Wait! Where are the arrows?"

"Hey! What are you guys doing?! They're gonna attack again! Get up you two!" Dark Pit angrily hollered at Pit and Lissa before standing in front of them. He summoned his Guardian Orbitars to deflect the projectiles from the opponents. "There's no time for talking at this time during battle."

"I'm just teaching Lissa how to use my weapon since we need another person to even up the fight," his doppelganger replied as he and the Cleric stood up. "But we're ready."

"Eh, I won't ask," the black angel said.

"You ready, Lissa?"

"Yep! Just be careful with my staff," the young Cleric said. "I can't heal you two if that gets broken."

"That'll be easy," the white angel smiled before pointing his gunblade at Nowi and Henry. "I'll make sure it's safe."

"Why don't you guys just place the staff here and just fight?" Dark Pit asked before preparing his bow to fire at the manakete.

"It would make fighting easier," Lissa pointed out.

"You're right," Pit then implanted the healing staff behind the Exalt's sister. He then stood in front of Lissa. "The fight is on!"

Henry had conjured up a large spherical flame on his free hand. Then it had disappeared from his hand. As Dark Pit began running towards Nowi, Henry snapped his fingers. Suddenly, a large ball of fire appeared in front of the dark angel. Because it appeared out of nowhere, the black angel was caught by the flames. He screamed in pain as he ran away from the fire magic while trying to extinguish the flames by putting it out on his own.

"Pittoo!" The white angel shouted as he ran to his doppelganger.

"Get this fire off of me!"

Thanks to Pit's assistance, the fire on Dark Pit's clothes was put out. He felt burns on almost all of his front body, attempting to resist screaming due to the sheer pain.

"Oh yeah!" Henry cheered and snickered. "He sure must felt the burns and the blood that comes out of his muscle tissues."

"Lissa!" Pit turned to face the Cleric. He nodded to signal what to do with his doppelganger.

She turned back and picked up her staff. Lissa immediately tried to cast a healing spell on Dark Pit. However, an arrow came at an incredible velocity targeting the crystal on the tip of the staff. Unfortunately, the projectile had missed by an inch. Despite Virion missing his target, it engendered Lissa to drop her staff due to the surprise attack of the arrow that could have pierced her forearm.

"What's going on?" Dark Pit yelled as he trying to ignore the pain of his burns and fight through it.

"Lissa! Are you hurt?!" Pit shouted before shooting a projectile at Virion. The light blue-haired archer tried to evade but got hit on his left shoulder blade.

"Virion! Are you okay?!" Nowi flew in front of her comrade and turned her head to look at his wound.

"Such magnificent and majestic weapon that winged individual possesses truly contains great power despite his young appearance," he responded as he got up without trouble. "A formidable rival who is on par with my ways of the bow, it's truly a sight to see to test my abilities."

"At least you aren't too hurt," she sighed out of relief. Nowi then faced her opponents and roared to intimidate them. "You're gonna pay for that!"

"Pittoo, we got to make sure Lissa doesn't get hurt," Pit told his doppelganger.

"Alright, these guys are annoying me anyway," he agreed before grunting over his burns.

"Oh wait!" Lissa suddenly remembered to heal the dark angel. She managed to grab her staff and place a healing spell to Dark Pit, curing his wounds. "All better!"

"Thanks," he rolled his right arm and noticed no pains. "Good. This will make this fight much easier."

Nowi flew towards the angels and Cleric while Henry was furtively running behind her. Virion went to the left side of their battlefield and tried to be away from his opponents so that they were not detecting his presence. The manakete shot a ball of fire at the angels.

"Let me take care of this," Dark Pit said as he deflected the attack with his Guardian Orbitars. "Now it's your turn!"

The white angel leaped towards Nowi and was ready to deliver a powerful strike with his First Blade. However, Henry fired small multiple orbs of fire towards Pit. He saw the flaming projectiles but he was confident in striking the manakete. Just when he was about to take the hit of the magic spells, Lissa had cast a wind spell to counteract the dark mage's flames. Pit was not going to think about what had transpired. He delivered a powerful strike on Nowi's dragon body, causing her to grunt in pain. Once he landed, Pit fired several bullets her again. Nowi screamed after getting shot numerous times. Virion focused on his target on Pit. He pulled the bow back, his right thumb planted on the bottom of his chin, and concentrated on hitting his enemy. The archer finally released his arrow and its trajectory was going straight to the white angel. What he did not expect was Pit leaping backward to avoid getting grabbed by the manakete. When the arrow struck the ground, the brown-haired male jumped upward by the surprise attack.

"What the?! Where did that come from?" Pit wondered before turning to see its direction, only to find Virion who was standing afar from everyone.

"He has caught me executing my furtive plan," Virion said to himself before running back to where he stood before. "I'll have to reevaluate my plan again."

"You're not going anywhere," he aimed his First Blade at the archer as he was making his way back to his comrades. However, before he could even shoot the first bullet, Henry released a ball of fire behind Pit's back, causing him to fall down face down. "AAHH!"

"Pit!" Lissa grabbed her staff and ran to the white angel. She managed to be by his side. Before she could heal him, the dark mage had cast another fire spell: this time with small orbs of fire. The Cleric saw Henry shoot his magic spell at her, so she decided to use Pit's Bow. Two golden rings appeared on her forearm, which surprised her for a moment. She then realized there was no string for her to pull.

"Use it as if you were shooting a regular bow," Pit grunted as he was struggling to get up.

Lissa nodded and pulled her free arm back as if she was using a normal bow. Suddenly, a glowing blue arrow appeared on the red emblem, ready for it to strike whenever. She concentrated for a moment as the multiple spheres of fire were directed at them. For a moment, the young blonde closed her eyes for a quick second before firing the shot. The velocity of the blue arrow was so fast that it extinguished Henry's fire spell and struck the tome.

"Eouch!" Henry shook his right hand while giggling. "That's gonna leave a mark for a bit."

"Woah," Lissa exclaimed. "I didn't know this bow could be this strong!"

"It's a bow forged by my goddess," Pit responded before grunting again. "But first, I need some healing."

"Oh, shoot! I'm sorry. I forgot about that," Lissa felt a bit guilty for being distracted by the Palutena Bow. "Here, let me heal you."

With the power of her staff, she healed Pit's burns from the spell and felt like he had not gotten that burn before. He stood up and gave thumbs up to Lissa. "Thanks, Lissa. You're the best."

"My pleasure," she smiled to play along.

"Let's finish what we started."

They stood next to each other with Pit's weapon and Lissa's bow that she was given to continue fighting. As Henry tried to find another tome to use from his robe, Dark Pit ran up to the dark mage before jumping to kick his face. Henry was sent back some distance and was rolling until he stopped.

"And _that's_ how you win a fight," he smirked before using his silver bow to point at the dark mage.

"It hurts… so nice," he said as his body could not have enough strength to get up. "You got me good. I can't see with all this blood in my eyes… I better go."

"You're gonna give up that easily after I kicked your face?" Dark Pit wondered while still holding his weapon at him.

"It's hard to fight with this much blood in my eyes and the pain feels nice."

"You're a strange one."

"Don't you dare hurt him!" Nowi shot a ball of magic at the black angel. She did not hit him directly but rather in front of him which engendered him to be knocked back far.

"Pittoo!" Pit shouted his name as the dark angel struggled to get up.

"Fight on. Don't worry about me," he grunted before resting due to the power the manakete had on him.

"Alright, Lissa, we're going to show this dragon some payback for what it did to Pittoo," Pit fired several bullets at Nowi's body.

"Ow! That hurts! Meanies!" She angrily shouted as she fired multiple projectiles at Pit and Lissa.

"Pit! Look out!" She embraced his right arm and buried her face onto it.

With a determined face, Pit summoned a Guardian Orbitar with his left hand after dropping his First Blade to deflect all of Nowi's magic back to her. She was hit multiple times before falling to the ground.

"Who is that guy? He's pretty strong," the manakete said while trying to get up before shooting another fireball at the two.

Pit held onto Lissa and leaped to the right to escape the attack. The Cleric slowly looked up and saw that she and her angel managed to dodge the attacks without harm.

"Lissa, I trust you can shoot many arrows while I deliver the final blow?" He asked his comrade.

"You can count on me!" She said so proudly. "I'm already an expert with this bow."

"Good," he teased. "Cover me."

She nodded and stood in front of him. With the Palutena Bow in hand, Lissa managed to shoot many arrows at an impressive rate. However, Nowi still had enough energy in herself to continuing firing at the cost of being immobile. While Pit had to maneuver his way closer to the manakete, Lissa also had to be careful of the fireballs. She ended up dodging several shots before firing a crucial arrow on Nowi's leg to force her to stay still. Pit saw the opening due to Nowi being unable to shoot more projectiles. He ran closer, jumped up, and delivered a vertical slash as he was coming down. Pit then swung in different diagonal directions before thrusting the First Blade at her body. The impact of the sword engendered Nowi to return to her human form and fell on her back.

"Owowow! That hurt way too much! I think I'm going to go home with Henry," she groaned before closing her eyes and trying to nap for a bit.

"Yay! We did it!" Lissa cheered believing she and Pit had won the battle on their side.

Pit was going to cheer as well before he realized that there was someone else on their side that they almost forgot. He realized it and had to run to Lissa in case something went wrong. As it turns out, the white angel was right. Virion was hiding behind Nowi's dragon form and was aiming at Lissa with his arrow. Instinctively, Pit ran to the Cleric who was unaware of the archer targeting her. His heart was racing; Pit was afraid that something terrible might happen to the young blonde. Time was running out. He had to make sure nothing would go wrong.

"Lissa! Watch out!"

"What?!" Lissa wondered before seeing Virion focusing his arrow at her. Death was in front of her at least that was what she felt. She suddenly froze out of absolute fear with what was in front of her.

As Virion released his bow, the arrow was approaching at an incredible speed. Lissa's heartbeat was pumping so fast that she could not do anything due to the sheer fear she was experiencing.

But then, Pit jumped in front of her while shooting his weapon at Virion. The light blue-haired man was struck in the chest before falling down to the ground. Both Pit and Lissa fell to the ground, hoping that neither was hurt.

"Pit! You saved me," she thanked him with a smile before turning her face into a shocking horror that she saw. "Pit! No!"

Virion's arrow had pierced through his shoulder. The wall of fire separating the two had extinguished. The goddess turned to see her angels, only to be struck with a terrifying image of her beloved white angel being hit by an arrow.

"PIT!"


	11. Duel of Champions

**Took a bit longer than expected but here you go! The conclusion of the tournament is here! Read and enjoy! :)**

* * *

Chapter 11

"Please tell me you're ok," Lissa panicked as she lifted the white angel so his back was not against the ground. "Pit, please be ok!"

"Pit!" Palutena screamed in horror as she ran to Lissa. Just before she kneeled next to her angel, she dropped her staff and shield. "What happened? Pit, dear, please be alive."

"Virion shot an arrow at me, and I didn't realize it because I thought we won our battle. Then…then," the blonde Cleric began hyperventilating with tears running down her face. "Th-th-then…"

"Lissa," the goddess calmly spoke her name which amazingly made the Exalt's younger sister less perturbed. She placed her right hand on Lissa's left shoulder. "Be strong. We must help Pit and heal him. Can you do that?"

"Y-yes," she nodded, wiping her eyes with the arm sleeves of her dress.

"Pit," Palutena spoke to her white angel.

"Lady Palutena? Lissa?" Pit groaned in pain as he moved his upper body only to feel pain on the shoulder where the arrow pierced through. "Ah! You're not hurt, Lissa?"

"No, because you saved me from Virion," her expression then turned to anger and looked at the archer who lay down on the floor. "Virion! You're such a jerk for trying to hurt a sweet angel!"

"Whilst my attempts to shift the tides of battle into our khan's favor were not in vain, there was never any intention of seriously maiming the younger sister of the Exalt," he said aloud while maintaining his tone. "What sort of man would I be if I intended to injure someone who is part of the royal line?"

"You mean you never wanted to hurt either of us?"

"Indeed. My purpose was to daunt you but I miscalculated because of that angel boy. He played a part of a hero to save the one he cares for. Such in those wonderful tales of folk," the blue-haired archer said. "Forgive my actions as vile as it appears to be."

"I…"

"Lissa, we have to remove the arrow that's on Pit," the green-haired goddess said.

"But how? I don't want to mess this up," Lissa began to worry. "What if we can't get the arrow out? If he has more injuries then-"

"Lissa," Pit softly spoke to the Cleric. "Remember the weapon I gave you? Try using that."

"Oh yeah," her tone was a bit uplifting and she held one of the twin blades of the Palutena Bow.

"You let her use the weapon I gave to you?" Palutena questioned her angel as if she was surprised and disappointed that he did that.

"I entrusted her with it during our fight and we needed another person to fight to even the numbers," he explained just so he was not going to face much criticism from his goddess.

"I see," she closed her eyes for a moment before opening them. "Lissa, since Pit entrusted you with a weapon I forged, I will allow you to hold onto it should Pit lend it to you for future fights."

"Thank you for trusting me," Lissa smiled before cutting the end where the sharp end was located. Once that was cut, Palutena slowly but firmly pulled the remaining part out. The Cleric then used her staff to heal the wound on Pit's shoulder. It took some time before Pit's injury was recovered. The white angel moved around his shoulder and felt like he never got hit with an arrow in the first place.

"I feel great!" He cheered. "Thank you, Lady Palutena and Lissa. You two really helped me out."

"I'm just glad that you're better now," Palutena giggled before embracing him. "I was scared for a moment that I could have lost you again."

"It'll take more than an arrow to kill me," her angel teased. He then turned to the Cleric and hugged her. "Lissa, you've done so much for me in just a short amount of time. I cannot thank you enough. You're really cool."

"I can't let my hero get hurt," she unknowingly responded before embracing him back as she touched his wings. "Your wings feel soft like bread."

"But don't eat them, I need them," he chuckled. "You're really nice, Lissa and so cheerful like myself."

"Oh, well, um, thanks," her cheeks became red and eyes were wider by his words. _"What the heck? I wasn't expecting a compliment from him. How am I supposed to react to that? What should I even say? He's so sweet though. I…I don't know what to do."_

"Where's Pittoo?" Pit asked.

"He's near Virion on the other side," the Cleric responded.

"Hey, Pittoo!" He called to his doppelganger. "Are you doing alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," he grunted as Dark Pit put his effort standing up. Slowly but surely, he got up but struggled to stay on his feet. "What's going on? You okay?"

"I'm fine, a bit hurt, but fine," the white angel replied.

* * *

Right now the whole battlefield suddenly fell silent. No one knew what to do after the scare of the white angel getting injured by an arrow. Even on the other side, the rest of the people stared at what was happening there. Most if not all of them felt sympathy for the white angel. The vibe they felt was wondering if they should discontinue the tournament.

"What should we do?" Chrom wondered as he dropped his Falchion as placed it inside his sheath.

"I'm not entirely certain," his wife responded, closing her tome. "Pit seems to be hurt from some sort of incident that happened there. "I think we should halt the tournament for now."

"I advise that you should not do that," Lon'qu said while gripping his Killer Edge and pointing it to Lucina.

"One of our members is gravely hurt, and our teammate rushed there to check on him," Robin argued back.

"The tactician provides a valid point," Panne nodded before reverting to her humanlike form. "This tournament should not allow any deaths in this fight, only to incapacitate."

"Right," she slightly smiled for the Taguel who was on her side.

"That is not for you to decide," the Myrmidon pointed out.

"Robin, it's up to the reigning khan to judge whether to continue the tournament or not," Chrom spoke to her.

"Well then, Basilio," she called to the old man. "You either continue this fight or stop it. Whichever you choose, I won't object to it."

The reigning khan closed his eyes to muse whether the tournament should resume or be canceled. He had considered the weight on both sides. While the well-being of a person was important, Basilio would not know what to do if the tradition of Regna Ferox were to be broken. His people will likely be upset as they all took their time to spectate a glorious fight between two Khans. The white angel whom he had never seen before was injured. However, he witnessed him getting healed by the Cleric, so the warrior could fight again. It was a rather difficult situation that he was in due to him potentially breaking the custom of hosting a tournament and determining the winner in one go.

"Hey old man," Flavia spoke to Basilio. "You are really about to stop this tournament over a single injury that was already mended?"

"This tournament not only decides who gets to rule power for an indefinite time, but this tournament also does not allow serious injuries to go unhandled. However, our practice of holding this special tournament cannot be disturbed. There cannot be a postponement of such a thing."

"There is one way to continue this tournament while the injured one can be excused from battle."

"I do know how to conclude the tournament in a quick but interesting way," he gave a slight smirk which unbeknownst to the blonde warrior thought she had the same idea that the current khan had in mind. "It is settled."

"So he finally answered," Chrom said to himself.

"This tournament will not discontinue," he declared. "However, we will make this fight end much quicker than it would have been."

By this point, most of the fighters on the field did not fully understand what Basilio was trying to say. Only his champion put the pieces together. Not long after did Robin realize what the khan meant by what he said. She suddenly became worried for her daughter and how she would fare against Lon'qu who wanted payback for their last encounter in the same arena.

"This tournament will continue. I would ask the champions on both sides to stand on the battlefield while the rest of you are dismissed from the fight."

Listening to that piece of information, Chrom and Robin became alarmed that Lucina had to face Lon'qu all by herself while everyone else had to watch. The tactician took a deep breath to calm herself down. Her husband noticed and wrapped his arm around her shoulders while placing his head onto the side of her head.

"It'll be alright," he said to his wife. "Lucina is capable of handling this on her own especially if it's someone who she defeated before."

"I know but what if she gets gravely hurt," Robin questioned, thinking of the worst outcomes that could happen to their daughter. "I don't want something horrible to happen to her."

"I don't either," Chrom acknowledged. "I fully trust our daughter to succeed in her fight and be safe as well."

"I do as well," the tactician agreed before looking at the Ylissean princess. Her expression was still worrisome due to the thoughts of Lucina getting serious maimed by Lon'qu. She thought, _"Please do be careful Lucina."_

On the other side, Palutena realized that Lucina had to fight alone against the Myrmidon. Her heart began racing when she had the same thoughts as Robin did. The more she mused over it, the more concerned she felt.

" _Why am I like this? I'm now getting worried that Lucina may get hurt in her fight alone. I really want her to be okay. She can't get hurt because I'll get upset. Ah! There is it again! Why do I think like this every time I see or think of that woman? There's something about Lucina that has caught my attention to her much more than I would have expected."_

"Let's go find somewhere where Pit can sit down," Lissa suggested now that she longer had to fight.

"There are plenty of seats we can sit to check on Pit's wound," the goddess finally said after thinking over her concern of the swordswoman.

"You two shouldn't have to worry," Pit disagreed as he rotated the healed shoulder without expressing pain. "There's no pain on this shoulder, so I'm good to go."

"Are you sure?" The Cleric wondered still uncertain if the white angel was fully recovered.

"It's only an arrow," he reassured that everything was fine. "I've dealt much worse than someone shooting an arrow on my shoulder."

"Well…ok," she conceited, putting a concerning smile just to lighten the situation.

"Please do be more careful, Pit," Palutena said to her angel. "We don't want another scare that could have killed you."

"I'll be more cautious next time," he nodded. "Sorry about that."

"Why are you apologizing for a courageous act? You know you don't always have to apologize to me."

"I know but I don't want to upset you."

"The only thing that'll upset me is if you asked me how old I am," she slightly smirked to play around and lighten up his mood.

"Yeah… I won't forget that one time," he nervously chuckled, reminiscing the time when a certain lady called a certain goddess an inappropriate title.

"I think you mean twice," she corrected him. "And surely you won't be the third one, right?"

"Oh no, no," the white angel calmly responded to Lissa's surprise. "I would never disrespect you in anyway Lady Palutena."

"Good," she giggled causing her and Pit to laugh.

" _They are quite something,"_ Lissa thought before her chest suddenly tightened. She had her right hand covering the area where it was hurting. "Ow, that hurts."

"Hey, Lissa, what's wrong?" Pit looked at the blonde with a troubled look in his eyes.

Lissa gazed at the beautiful blue eyes of the brown-haired angel. Such admiration of angelic beauty could never be ignored. She suddenly had her cheeks red and turned her head away to hide Pit's gaze. "I-It's nothing. I'm not really in pain though."

Palutena turned her head in bewilderment before realizing why Lissa was behaving in such a manner. She smiled and found it adorable. The goddess knew.

"Are you sure?" He had his left hand on the Cleric's right shoulder before trying to see her face. "It sounded like you felt pain just now."

"No, no!" She shook herself, forcing Pit to let go. Lissa's cheeks were still burning with redness and did not appear to get better at any point. "It's one of the feelings where I thought I felt pain when it really was not."

"As long as you're okay, then I'm fine with it."

"Thank you for understanding," Lissa secretly had a sigh of relief that she managed to hide whatever she was feeling. "We should get onto one of the seats and watch Lucina kick Lon'qu's butt!"

" _Pit, if only you knew what Lissa is feeling right now,"_ the green-haired goddess expressed a genuine smile at that thought. She wondered if that possibility was ever possible since she, too, was in a similar position with herself.

"Lady Lucina is a very formidable fighter, so I know she'll show that guy a thing or two."

" _Lady Lucina, that's a cute title for her,"_ realizing what she was musing about, Palutena had a slight blush on her face. _"No! Stop this strange feeling inside me. It's just too much for me. I have to stop this feeling from growing because it keeps getting stronger."_

* * *

"Everyone!" Chrom called to the rest of his comrades who were not fighting. "Let's all meet up down there and rest up for the remainder of the tournament."

They all agreed and were walking their way down to the south side of the battle arena to sit in the reserved spots for them. While they were across from Basilio and Flavia, the seats appeared to be more comfortable than the spectator seats. The chairs were further apart and had arm stands. The seating had more cushion, making it less irritating to stay seated. An interesting note of its design was how there were two rows. It could be that this particular event had many reserved seats for particular members of Regna or any of royalty outside of the country. They, including the Exalt, were quite intrigued with how the Colosseum was much bigger than it seemed at face value.

Chrom and Robin sat in the front while Dark Pit sat the far right end of the same row. Meanwhile, Pit, Lissa, and Palutena sat behind the Exalt and his wife. The Cleric was between the Goddess of Light and the white angel, which made her a bit nervous. She had no clue what the relationship between Pit and Palutena was. However, she did hope that it was not romantically intimate. Lissa unknowingly and obliviously was unaware that she may be feeling a certain way for the white angel.

"I can't believe it's all going to decide this quickly," Pit commented, adjusting himself to be comfortable with his seat. "Boy, these chairs sure are comfy."

"They really are!" Lissa cheered with a smile. "Who knew that Ferox can make quality chairs?"

"Don't they have comfy chairs back where you live?"

"Sort of," she tilted her head, trying to muse if such a thing existed in Ylisstol. "I can't say for sure for the people there, but Chrom gets to sit in the throne room on a really nice chair. But, he's rarely there since he prefers to go out more."

"That's true," Chrom turned around and looked at his sister and the white angel. "While I have my responsibilities as an Exalt, I can't help but assist the people I serve and protect them from any danger that comes their way."

"That's very noble of you, Chrom," Pit praised the Exalt for his ability to manage many responsibilities very well. "It's a lot of work but you seem to be fine doing it."

"It is indeed difficult to handle, but thanks to Robin, we share the work together."

"It's not like I should put every burden on him," she teased as she turned back as well. "I plan most of the time while he just goes in and does it."

"I think it's a perfect combination, wouldn't you say?"

"Most of the time," she rolled her eyes just to mess with her husband before giggling at his tease.

"Hey look, Lucina is about to begin her fight," the white angel pointed out, making everyone, especially Palutena shift their focus onto the Ylissean princess. "I hope Lucina can pull this through."

"Of course she will, Pit," the Cleric was not worried one bit and expressed a confident smile on her face. "She kicked Lon'qu's butt before, so she'll embarrass him again."

"Is Lucina really that strong of a swordfighter?"

"There's no doubt about that, Pit," Palutena instinctively replied. "Seeing how well she trained and fought opponents during our time in Smash and this war against Hades, Lucina is very talented with that sword. Whoever that Lonku is, he has no chance against the beautiful and adept Lucina."

"That's right," the white angel agreed. "Lucina is formidable, so I believe she'll clutch this one out."

"You can do it, Lucina!" Lissa cheered the blue-haired swordswoman.

Lucina turned back to see her family and comrades supporting her rematch against the Myrmidon. She smiled and waved back.

" _There's that cute smile she has,"_ Palutena thought again causing her expression to naturally beam with delight.

"Are you thinking about Pit?" Lissa whispered to the goddess's ear, snapping her back to reality.

"W-What? What are you saying?" She could not believe the words that the Cleric was mouthing.

"Well… are you?" The young blonde pouted while crossing her arms.

"Oh, no, no, no," Palutena petted Lissa's hair. "That's completely incorrect and absolutely not true at all."

"The way you two were talking sounded like you two are like a couple," she then felt guilty for falsely accusing the Goddess of Light and her relationship with the white angel.

"I understand why you would feel that way, but rest assured Pit is the Captain of my army back home. I am his Goddess, he serves for me, and I care about him. That's all."

"Ok. Good," she felt a sigh of relief that her assumptions were wrong.

"I _do_ know why you were jealous of me," she smirked, giving the opportunity to play a little bit after being asked such a personal question. "And I think it's cute."

"What do you mean cute?" Lissa turned away to hide her blush.

"You know I'm talking about. I can read your mind and know what's in your heart," she slowly was next to Lissa's right ear. "I know how you feel about him?"

"WHAT?!" She jumped back. Her scream startled the group.

"Lissa, are you okay?" Chrom asked his sister while being anxious.

"No, no! I'm totally fine," she shook her hands to deny that she was feeling off.

"But you are warm," his wife responded. "You're cheeks are red. You sure you don't have some sort of fever from the battle?"

"N-Not at all!" Lissa nervously chuckled.

"Hey, Lissa," Pit faced his comrade who then faced the angel. He then placed his right hand on her forehead. "I don't think it's a fever, but it is okay if there's something wrong. None of us are going to say anything bad."

Her face was becoming redder by Pit's sweet smile and support. Not to mention that his hand was contacting her forehead made her blush stronger. All of the embarrassment was bottling up inside her and she covered her face in shame.

"I do apologize," Palutena admitted. "Lissa and I had a bit of fun teasing each other, and I proved to win that battle for now."

"What did you even talk about to make her all flustered?" Robin curiously wondered.

"It's something personal that I don't think Lissa wants to admit for now, so I ask you to respect that."

"Fair," the tactician nodded yet was confused by what she meant by that. While it looked like teasing over something personal, Robin believed it was not something malicious. She then faced the battlefield. "When's the fight going to start? I want to see my daughter beat Lon'qu."

Pit decided to not pry into what Lissa was thinking about and shifted his focus on the Ylissean princess's fight. The Cleric uncovered her face and looked up to see that most of her group were spectating the tournament. Before she could take a relieving breath, the goddess had something to say.

"Your secret is safe with me."

"That's good. I don't want anyone else to know until things get better," she appeared to look a bit ashamed for thinking such a way.

"But I think he'll be fine with it. You two seem to be very compatible with each other."

"Thank you Lady Palutena for keeping my secret," she then realized that what the goddess thought earlier was not her crush, but someone else. Lissa had a little smirk on her face for a little payback. "So… if it wasn't Pit that you thought of, then who was it then?"

"Oh," the green-haired woman's cheeks were a bit pink and she, for some reason, looked at Lucina to avoid eye contact with the Cleric. "That's also a secret of mine that I won't share until I can admit it. Even if I do, I'll look like a weak goddess."

Lissa was bewildered with what she meant by that. The young blonde noticed that Palutena was gazing at Lucina the same way she initially thought was for Pit. A lightbulb had lighted up on her head as she finally made the connection. Lissa silently gasped because she never expected a goddess of all beings to feel something for a certain someone. Because Palutena made a promise to her, Lissa decided to reciprocate. "You're secret is also safe with me."

Palutena was not sure what Lissa meant by that yet at the same time was concerned that the Cleric may have figured out why the goddess was feeling so strangely towards Lucina. She decided to shrug it off and just watch the blue-haired swordswoman fight against the Myrmidon.

* * *

On the battlefield stood between Lon'qu who was waiting for this moment to avenge his loss in their previous encounter and Lucina who was prepared to maintain the ruling power that Flavia wanted. She was not going to let this fight become a disappointment, especially since she was not fighting against her father or any of her allies. This time, this was different: they are rooting for her. There was not any pressure against her as Lucina was confident that she can defeat Lon'qu, but she also realized that the swordsman was training hard while she was away at the Smash tournament. It was fair game for both of them regardless.

"You may have beaten me in our last encounter, but this time," he unsheathed his Killing Edge and pointed it straight at her. "I'll emerge as victorious."

"I'll enjoy our rematch the same way it has ended before," she unsheathed her Parallel Falchion and pointed it at Lon'qu. "You losing to a woman again."

"No it will not!" He initiated the fight by running towards Lucina. As he drew his weapon by his side, Lon'qu took a swing from the Ylissean's left side. Luckily, Lucina responded with a left side block. He quickly dropped back a step before thrusting his weapon to her chest. She hopped to the right side to escape in the nick of time.

The next thing Lucina tried to do was elbowing the Myrmidon right on his face. However, Lon'qu immediately grabbed her elbow with his free hand, surprising the swordswoman. He raised his sword and swung downwards onto Lucina's upper body. This time, Lucina ducked and rolled forward to escape the swing, engendering the swordsman to miss and fall over. Both quickly got up and kept their guard. The two ran to each other and swung many times in different positions, trying to get a single strike in. The tournament was evenly matched with both adept swordfighters not budging. Lon'qu struck his Killer Edge at a downward diagonal angle before Lucina swung back with her Parallel Falchion at an upward diagonal motion. Both metallic weapons collided again. They put in their efforts to push each other back to gain the opening they need to win. Lucina was physically strong enough to hold her own against a formidable opponent. Because of this, she had her focus completely on maintaining balance. What she did not realize was that Lon'qu feigned holding his weapon with both of his hands. He had his right hand gripped firmly on the hilt while his left hand only had his palm supporting it. Swiftly, the Myrmidon threw a low blow to the future princess's stomach. Lucina's eyes were bulging and tried to gasp for air from the powerful punch that Lon'qu threw out.

"Oh, no," Chrom shocked to see his daughter suffer a blow in the gut.

"She won't lose like that," Robin instinctively said, still confident yet a bit worried that her daughter might lose this match. "Please Lucina, don't give up. Keep your head up."

" _Lucina!"_ Palutena shouted in her own conscience, feeling all sorts of panic. Seeing Lucina getting punched felt like she, too, felt the same pain the swordswoman got. The goddess covered her stomach as a result of witnessing that. _"Please be okay. Don't lose to that man. We want you to win. I want you to win."_

"Lady Palutena, are you feeling alright? Is your stomach hurting?" Pit asked in a concerned tone because he thought that his goddess had a stomachache.

"No, no, Pit," she calmly responded with a smile. "It felt like I got hurt when Lucina was punched in the stomach."

"Yeah, it looked like a strong punch, too," he scrunched his face, knowing how painful of having the experience of getting a fist on one's belly.

"Don't you worry because Lucina will still pull through," Lissa optimistically responded while giving off a confident smirk.

"Yeah she will," the white angel agreed. "I like your optimism, Lissa."

"Oh, um, thanks, Pit," she nervously giggled before turning away to hide her blush from him. By doing that, Palutena noticed it and gave a genuine smile.

Pit tilted his head on confusion since he had no clue why Lissa acting so strangely towards him. He decided to not dive into it until she was comfortable talking about it.

Lucina dropped her guard and was on her knees, coughing from the punch she was dealt with. Lon'qu was by her side, standing still before raising his blade above his head. He prepared himself to deliver the winning blow. Without hesitation, Lon'qu swung his Killer Edge downward to strike Lucina.

Unfortunately for him, it was not the end.

The swordswoman pulled an unorthodox move that no one expected her to execute. She lunged forward at the Myrmidon's legs. The impact of the force made him fall to the ground on his back and drop his weapon due to the unexpected move. Lucina got up and ran back to pick up her Parallel Falchion. She had to quickly force him in a bad spot, so she ran at him who was trying to get and pick up his blade. Lucina did not hesitate to swing her Falchion downward, only to be blocked by Lon'qu's Killer Edge. While he was still on his knees, the Ylissean princess put all of her effort to sending him face down on the ground. This time, Lucina had to pay attention to Lon'qu rather than her blade. Good thing she did because the swordsman had a free leg to swing around, in which he did. The future princess noticed it and flipped backward to escape the low kick. As a result, Lon'qu got up and swiftly ran towards Lucina to continue his flurry of sword strikes. One strike from the right. Blocked. One strike from the left. Blocked. One from the above. Blocked. One from the under. Blocked. One diagonal downward strike from the right. Blocked. One diagonal downward strike from the left. Blocked. One diagonal upward strike from the left. Blocked. One diagonal upward strike from the right. Blocked.

Lucina realized that Lon'qu was fighting in a pattern and was not trying to throw her off. She knew that the next swing would be any of the similar motion swings he just did. As it turns out, the blue-haired woman had predicted the right move. She pulled the hilt of her Parallel Falchion close to her upper body with the blade pointing at the bottom. Lon'qu swung his Killer Edge from above. Lucina immediately retaliated by countering with a swift reverse circular motion, colliding her weapon with his. He was stumbling due to the speed that the swordswoman had for that particular situation. This was the opening she saw. She threw out multiple various swings to pressure him as he was limited to what he was doing. He just had to block as much as he could.

Lucina then shifted the rhythm of her swordplay. She took a step forward and swung in a horizontal motion. Another step forward and swinging in the opposite direction. The third step forward Lucina struck Lon'qu's sword down onto the ground and pinned it to prevent it from escaping. The final gracious step ended with a two-parter: the first swing was the horizontal swing before swinging in an upward diagonal arc to disarm Lon'qu. The Killer Edge was separated from his grip, and it flew a bit far away from him to where he could not reach it. Lucina elbowed his chest before pushing him to the ground. When he was on the floor, the future princess placed her right foot on his chest and placed the tip of her Parallel Falchion just inches from his neck.

"Game over," Lucina said.

"Despite all my training, I still lose to the likes of you," Lon'qu upsettingly grunted, trying to move around to escape from the Ylissean's crutches. However, he failed to and had no choice but to concede defeat. He closed his eyes. "Very well. I'll admit defeat because you are an indeed formidable opponent. Don't expect this outcome again the next time we meet."

"I shall see the day."

The tournament had ended. Flavia will retain her power as the ruling khan while Basilio cackled by such a spectacular match to behold.


	12. Bonds of Unexpected Relationships

**Sorry again for the late update! I'm trying my best to keep this story updated as much as I could. Hope you guys read and enjoy :)**

* * *

Chapter 12

Her eyes finally had opened. All she could see around the room was white. A constant beeping noise was heard near where she lay down. Confusion clouded her mind. She had no idea why she was at the infirmary in the first place. Upon looking around, she noticed a woman sitting down on a chair next to her resting with her back erect.

"S-Samus?" Zelda called to the bounty hunter in a weak tone since she just woke up. She could not tell if her message was received. "Where am I?"

Samus shook her head and slowly opened her eyes as her ears detected sound she recognized. She turned to see the Hylian princess awake. The blonde woman quickly went to the side of her bed and held the brunette's left hand with both of hers. "Zelda, are you okay?"

"Where am I? What happened to me?" She said, still feeling a bit out of place.

"You're at the infirmary," Samus said while still holding Zelda's hand as tightly as she could. "Remember when you were struck by Hades' ray of light?"

"I think so," she used her free hand to rub the side of her head. "It really hurt and I thought I almost died."

"I was worried if you weren't going to be alive."

"I was not expecting a powerful attack nearly taking my life," Zelda looked away, feeling upset over the fact that it transpired. "Yet almost everyone else seemed fine."

"That is not true," Samus disagreed. "The others who also were hit by Hades' magic were unconscious for some time."

"Tell me, was I the last one to wake up?"

"…Yes."

Zelda looked down and shook her head. "I couldn't even defend myself against him. I'm the Hylian princess whose ancestry traces back to the goddess in the beginning. And yet, I nearly died by a single ray of light. I'm… so weak."

"That's not true," hearing those demeaning words made Samus unhappy. She gripped Zelda's hand tighter. "No one expected Hades to have such power. All of us were caught off guard by it."

"Even so…" she wanted to tear up over her failure to defend Hades' attack from before.

"Zelda," Samus used her right hand to turn the Hylian's face to her. She then placed her fingers under Zelda's chin. "Don't be too hard on yourself. This was not something any of us could do other than to protect ourselves. We know what he is capable of. The next time he comes back, we'll be ready."

"What if we can't defeat him?" Zelda was still pessimistic. "What if Palutena, Pit, Dark Pit, Robin, and Lucian fail to stop Hades? What can we do to stop him?"

"It's him against a myriad of powerful fighters who can kill gods and possess immense power. Every enemy has a weakness. Every enemy has its limits. If we can break that, then we can defeat him."

"I suppose you have a point," Zelda smiled, which made the bounty hunter relieved. Then, the Hylian realized that Samus was still touching her chin and their faces were decently close. Her face suddenly reddened. "Um… are you… going to still touch me like this?"

"I… apologize," the blonde looked away and blushed, oblivious over the fact that she held Zelda's chin for that long. "I had no intention of making you uncomfortable."

"It's alright," she giggled. "It was soothing that you were doing that for me."

"If you're fine with it, I'll continue to hold your hand," Samus said before staring at her eyes. "You are important to me and I do not want to see you like this again."

"I appreciate your kindness," the princess's cheeks reddened a little before placing her free hand onto Samus'. "I do have something I want to know."

"What is it?"

"How long was I out?"

"No more than a few days," Zelda was surprised to hear that she was unconscious for that long.

"Was I really gone for that long?"

"You were," the bounty hunter nodded. "But what matters now is that you're awake."

"You're so kind to me," she said before being closer to Samus' face. "I also want to protect you. I should also worry about you instead of me."

"Don't worry about me," the bounty hunter answered. "I don't want you to be in the same condition you were before. I have to protect you."

"Why do you want to protect me? Why can't I protect you? Am I not strong enough to protect those I care about?"

"That's not why," she replied before Zelda interrupted again.

"Then why? I'm capable of putting myself on the line for people, too. I don't need to be protected like the typical princess I have portray-"

The bounty hunter pulled the Hylian close and was nearly going to kiss Zelda. "It's because I care about you very deeply. If you were to die, I would be greatly hurt by that. That's why I want to protect you. So you and I can live and be happy together."

"I feel the same way," she smiled before chuckling. Zelda then embraced Samus and held onto her tightly. "Thank you for everything. You have a way with words that sway me."

"You deserve to hear every single word I say to you," the blonde hugged her back. "If you'll excuse me, I'll get the doctor to let him know that you're awake."

"Do hurry back," she smirked. "I want to feel your lovely body again."

"What did you say?" Samus furrowed her eyes.

"Oh, nothing," she giggled. "Just come back as soon as you can so you can protect me."

"As you wish, my princess."

* * *

In the deepest and darkest realms of the Chaos Vortex, Hades was searching for the one that he needed to seek. He was casually roaming around the distorted world as if nothing that went against the laws of physics affected him. The demonic god just did not care whatever was happening in the Chaos Vortex. Some time passed by since he got there. He was looking everywhere for his target but nothing was showing up.

"Oh, bore!" Hades yawned as he stretched his arms out of boredom. "Finding you is making this search so not fun! Come on out, come out, wherever you are."

No one was responding to his playful command. However, whoever Hades wanted to find was not going to go to him that easily. He had to actually find his target all on his own whether he liked it or not.

"Deciding to play hard to get? Well, so be it," the lord of the underworld transformed into a crimson mist and traveled at an incredible velocity in search for his target. "I'll just take you by force!"

Passing through the distorted building structures and the whirling orange masses, Hades saw disembodied eyeballs and hands surrounding him whenever he appeared to go too far off. Despite not caring a single bit about the Chaos Vortex, the dark lord went through one of the eyeballs, which sent him to a vast desert.

"Ugh, of all the places to send me, I'm stuck in a dry desert. This isn't good for my body. I could even get skin cancer if I stay in the sun for too long," he pretended to be dramatic before landing on one of the sandy dunes. "Hmm, I don't see my target around here. It's too hot even for it to withstand."

He scanned the entire desert in case something happened to be near his radar. The only thing that was unusual to him was how there were no enemies around, especially his creatures from the Underworld Army. The difference was that Pit had to traverse through this very same desert to reach to the Seafloor Palace. But now the desert looked like no one had set foot here for years.

"Welp, there's nothing here," Hades said since he got bored that quickly. "If this is what takes to find you, then I'm quite disappointed. Can't even present yourself to me when I have no intention of harming you at all."

The demon god created a portal and returned to the Chaos Vortex. He returned to the exact same spot before he found his way to the desert. The next course of action he was planning on doing was returning to where the contorted stone buildings were present. He then stopped in the middle where all of the structures were and focused intently on each one to locate his target.

"You're really are a coward. Now, I'm getting a little impatient," Hades felt a bit annoyed by its behavior. "I suppose a little persuasion could help. What if I told you that I know where your most hated enemies are and we can truly crush them? So what do you say? Come on out here and let's make the party a little spicier."

To his surprise, the buildings began separating farther than usual and a larger yet less distorted structure appeared from beneath. Intrigued by the strange behavior, Hades flew towards the new building and landed on the roof, which was quite vast. He looked around above him to see if someone or something was coming to him. Then, a swarm of black particles came flying down before landing right in front of the demon himself. Before he could speak, the swarm jumped in front of him attempting to drag him to the bottom depths of the vortex. Unfortunately, its efforts were completely futile as Hades stood still yawning from his target's feeble try to trap him here.

"Come on now," he pretended to be upset. "You're nothing more than a pathetic nonphysical being whose been trapped here for years. If you think you can try to take me down, then it's laughable that you, the weak Chaos Kin, would ever try to do that. I could eliminate you from existence since you didn't really agree with my offer. But then again, you also share the same hatred for them as I do. As a result, let's make a deal."

"…" the being stood there but it complied with the Lord of the Underworld's demands.

"Good," Hades intentionally tried to pat the Chaos Kin on its back but his hand went through it. "Now all you have to do is agree with my terms and I will guarantee you'll be rewarded greatly."

"…" the Chaos Kin tried to transmit its message to Hades that it was willing to cooperate.

"I know where those losers are, but they are in a different world. They are not in Skyworld," he first clarified things. "I have a plan to take all of their souls; one-by-one and then I will have enough power to completely rule Skyworld and others for my own pleasure. To do this, I have a specific pattern of who to strike first and last. It's my way of brutally torturing each one to a point where they will break and give in. Here's the list."

The Chaos Kin looked through the ordered list of which soul to steal. It was not much a bother since it cared about stealing a certain angel's soul and a goddess' as well so nothing could stand in its way.

"Of course, I can't do this alone. And yes, the problem lies with you. How can you possibly try to steal souls when you aren't in your physical form?" Hades said before presenting a soul that is unknowing to the Chaos Kin. "Do not fret; this soul once belonged to a powerful being in this strange world for Smash Brothers. Once I give you this, you'll be able to return to your physical form while holding the soul of this particular being. I am entrusting you with this, so don't fail me."

He knew that the Chaos Kin was excited to return to its old original form after being a swarm of black particles for so long. Hades then slowly transferred Crazy Hand's soul to the Chaos Kin. The fusion caused the swarm of particles to disappear and create something else. Eventually, the Chaos Kin was restored to its former physical form with a few changes. The two noticeable changes were its claws being black and spiked and its eye being white and crimson. The Chaos Kin moved around to get used to its new or rather restored body. It felt natural for it to easily get accustomed to it in an instant.

"Already getting used to your new body? Looks like someone has been practicing for this moment," he cackled before the Chaos Kin leaped onto Hades' shoulder. "Now that this is all settled, let's head back to Ylisse and deliver the best news to our guests."

* * *

"Bravo, simply bravo," Flavia clapped as she and Basilio walked to the arena. "What a spectacular display of swordplay between two talented individuals!"

"Your praise is appreciated," Lucina bowed. "It was not easy to win this tournament."

"It was quite a show though I'm not surprised that the daughter of the Exalt would come out on top," Basilio cackled but was pleased to watch Lucina defeat Lon'qu. "If only I recruited you then I could've taken back the ruling power!"

"Am I that valuable to you two?" Lucina questioned, unsure of how to react to Basilio's strange way of praising the Ylissean.

"Yes!" He cackled. "If I had only known you came back sooner, then I would easily have chosen you or the Exalt. Sorry about that, Lon'qu. I don't mean to offend ya."

He said nothing and just stood up while facing away from them. Then, the rest of the group came down from the seats to congratulate Lucina for winning the tournament. Everyone, especially a few, was overly delighted to see the swordswoman fine from the intense fight.

"Lucina, you were fantastic in the tournament," Chrom congratulated his daughter by rubbing her head.

"Thank you, father," she smiled before feeling a bit sheepish from being petted by him. "I feel like I'm being petted."

"That's because you deserve the win Lucy dear," Robin said as she hugged her daughter feeling all relieved that the future princess was unharmed. "Petting you means you're still alive and well."

"T-That's can't be your reasoning, mother?"

"Can't I feel your soft hair that is on top of your head?" She smirked before trying to clean up Lucina's armor. "Lucina, you also need to take better care of your armor. It's getting dirty every time you go out to a fight or something."

"Mother, it's difficult to maintain a proper armor and uniform for the next in line as Exalt," she explained.

"It shouldn't be that hard to clean up a cape and some metal. A little wash and spit-and-shine wouldn't hurt," her mother continued on before she wiped the emblem on her scarf with her robe. "There, all tidied up. Now do be more cautious on keeping high maintenance on your armor, Lucina. If you don't, I'm going to have to punish you."

"M-Mother, I," Lucina stammered since she was surprised to hear that her mother was acting strictly on keeping her outfit tidy. "I will do my best to ensure a well-maintained uniform."

"Aw, Lucina, you're so precious," the tactician laughed, which bewildered her for a moment. Robin petted Lucina's head again. "Another reason why I love my daughter is that I get to have a little fun."

When she said, Lucina felt embarrassed and looked away. "M-Mother, you're embarrassing me in front of everyone."

The group did indeed laugh but it was for the interaction between the mother and her daughter rather than laughing at Lucina's expense. The Ylissean princess tried to hide her face from the group, but it felt futile to do so.

"I'm sorry, Lucina," Robin said. "We are happy that you won the fight but I like to have a little fun."

"I just was not expecting that to happen," she responded before being able to look at her mother.

"Don't take it too hard, Lucina," Palutena said before standing next to Lucina. "You were really amazing in the tournament. I was nervous throughout your fight against him, but in the end, not only did you win, but you were completely free from injuries."

"Thank you, Lady Palutena," the swordswoman bowed to her. "You've been very nice to me with these praises and always being by my side. I truly appreciate it."

"You're a sweet and cute girl. Plus, you're quite the swordfighter and I like that," the goddess said while having her heart beat rapidly. She tried to feign what she was truly feeling so no one could detect it. "I'm very impressed by how focused you were. The way you found crucial openings and the delivery with your Falchion, I find it magnificent to watch."

"Wow," Lucina blushed which made Palutena happy on the inside. "T-Thank you. Hearing those words from a goddess is quite rare for me to hear."

"Rare? I don't understand," Palutena was baffled that Lucina would say such a thing. "The people here seem to like you."

"That's not entirely the case," she spoke as if she did not sound proud.

"What's wrong?" The goddess placed a hand on the swordswoman's shoulder. She was concerned that she may have pushed a boundary.

"I… think we should probably get going now that we're done here," Robin interrupted the conversation since she knew that it was something her daughter was not comfortable telling besides the tactician.

"Robin," Chrom said to his wife who was also conflicted. "What's going on? Lucina, if you have something you want to say, it's ok to say it amongst all of us."

"I appreciate your support, father," Lucina feigned a smile. "But this is something I rather keep to myself for now."

"I understand. Whenever you are ready, we are all ready to help you out if needed."

Lucina thanked her father. Palutena felt guilty for crossing a line that caused the Ylissean princess to feel some sort of melancholy. She wanted to help her out as much as she could. Despite the urge to do so, the goddess refrained from it because she feared that Lucina would dislike her if Palutena acted rashly.

Since Flavia would retain her ruling power, there was not going to be some sort of inauguration for her to perform. She would just announce to her people that she was going to continue to rule Ferox. Chrom was prepared to return to Ylisstol since there was nothing else he needed to do in Ferox.

"I will be returning to Ylisstol," he said to the khans. "Thank you for allowing me to represent you, Flavia, in part of this tournament."

"You're welcome, Exalt," the blonde woman chuckled. "If I need to put the old fart in his place again, I'll send a word."

"Bwahaha!" Basilio cackled. "I may not have ruling power for now, but I'll still teach ya some valuable lessons. You still got some things to learn around here."

"I think that since Ferox has been peaceful ever since the fall of the fell dragon, I have been a fine ruler and do not need any more assistance from you, old man."

"Don't come crying to me when things go awry," he teased.

"Anyways, we'll be on our way. It was a pleasure participating in this tournament again," Chrom added.

"It was another magnificent tournament again," the old man cheered. "I shall escort you all to the exit."

* * *

Basilio led the group back to the area where they entered. He bid them farewell before returning to the arena. Chrom opened the carriage for the rest to hop on.

"We'll be returning to the capital," he said before looking at the dark angel who was still hurt from Nowi's attack. "Will you be okay?"

"I'll be fine," he quickly said before being the first to sit inside. "It was nothing for me."

"Sometimes, I wonder if he just dislikes us," the Exalt sighed.

"It's not your fault, Chrom," Pit reassured. "Pittoo is the opposite of myself, so whatever he says or acts is on his own and not directed towards you."

"If you say so," he nodded yet was still uncertain if that statement was particularly true.

"Pittoo is quite an interesting character, to say the least," the goddess added. "He's supposed to be the reflection of Pit's dark and suppressed thoughts of himself."

"He's like Pit but in a different personality?"

"In a way, yes," Palutena confirmed.

"Well, I don't particularly like that black angel," Lissa pouted. "He's always distancing himself from people and acts cold towards others like he doesn't care about them."

"Does that mean you don't like Pit?" Palutena teased with a slight smirk on her face.

"Wait, Lissa, you don't like me?" Pit took it the wrong way and looked at the Cleric.

"N-no, that's not it at all," she stammered while blushing. "You're not like him and actually nice to others. Besides, I much rather be around with you than him."

"Really?" Pit was quite shocked to hear that Lissa would say something rare to the angel. "You really think that of me?"

"Y-yeah," she nervously answered, trying not to admit something Pit was not prepared for. "I just feel very comfortable around you. Nothing that I dislike is felt from you. Plus, you seem like a cool person to be around."

Pit did not know how to respond to that. His eyes just widened that someone who he just met had outright said something he rarely heard ever. No words were heard from him. Lissa had to wave her right hand at Pit's face to snap him back to reality.

"Get him into the carriage and we'll head out immediately," Robin commanded before letting her daughter inside the carriage, which Palutena followed.

"Pit's still not moving on his own," the young blonde said before getting worried about his current state.

"Is he still like that?" Palutena asked and giggled before walking out of the carriage. She snapped her fingers twice. "Pit! Wake up!"

"I'm awake! I'm ready to go!" The white angel was in his fighting stance and thought he was going to fly through a specific territory.

"Well, the first mission you have to do is get into this carriage," Palutena played on to see if her angel would still think he was still on duty.

"Wait, what happened to me?" Pit shook his head, havin no memory to recall on his own. He held his forehead while trying to remember what happened.

"We can talk about it in the carriage," Lissa suggested, putting out her right hand to the white angel and walk him to the carriage. Inside her mind, she tried not to get too nervous around Pit, especially if she ever physically touched him.

"Oh, yeah, that's right," Pit nodded before grabbing the Cleric's hand with his. The two finally entered inside with the goddess behind them.

"Now that's taken care of," Chrom said before getting on the horses with his wife. "Let's return to the capital."

While making their way to Ylisstol, Pit tried to recollect what he was doing before losing touch of reality.

"So what actually happened to me? I was standing outside for a minute and then I just zoned out of nowhere," the brown-haired angel struggled to figure out what happened.

"I believe a little blondie here said some things to you that made you a little starstruck," Palutena said to amuse the two before quieting herself so they could talk. "I'll leave you two be…in this small carriage where all of us can hear."

"Lissa, did you say something to me?" Pit asked the Cleric since he was still unsure of what happened. They sat across from each other.

"I did," she quietly said, feeling a bit nervous to speak her thoughts again.

"Can you remind me what you said before? It's hard to remember for some reason."

"Well," she struggled to repeat the words she answered previously. _"Am I really having a hard time talking to Pit right after I said something nice to him?"_

"Is there something wrong?" Pit began to wonder if Lissa was acting normal.

"No, no," she stammered and chuckled anxiously. "I just need to form the sentences in my head before I actually speaking."

"That's okay!" He smiled. "Always prepare before going right into the action."

"You're right," she giggled before clearing her throat. "Anyways, I said something to you that made you zone out for some reason."

"What did you say? It was something extraordinary because it froze me."

"All I said was I liked being around you because you're a cool guy to hang and I don't find anything about you disliking," she admitted. This time, she was a bit more confident and wanted to say it with such poise.

Hearing those words engendered the angel to suddenly remember the similar response the Cleric said before. His eyes slightly widened a bit. "You still think of me that way?"

"If I didn't, then I would have said something different," she winked at him, signaling that she was telling the truth.

Pit was in disbelief that someone, let alone another girl, would say something genuine to him like that. He showed a small smile before turning to face the window.

"Did I say something wrong?" Lissa became worried that she may have offended him.

"No, you didn't," he corrected. The angel then looked at her and brightened up his grin. "I really appreciate that you said that, Lissa. It makes me feel good about myself."

"I'm glad that I made you feel better about-" she paused, thinking over how the white angel phrased his words. "What do you mean by that? Don't you get those kinds of praise like that?"

"I don't get much of that actually," he nervously said before scratching the back of his head. "Back in my world, I usually don't get much appreciation, other than Lady Palutena sometimes two people. The rest kinda put me down… to mess with my head in battle. It's hard to believe that someone from another world would say something so similar of that nature to me."

"I don't agree with the people who would ever put you down like that," Lissa became upset to hear that Pit had endured such treatment during his time defending Skyworld. "It's not even a mind game. It's like they mean that to you, and it just gets to you. Then those insecurities and doubt about yourself grow more. Sometimes, you wonder if your value means something."

"You know how I feel?" He was surprised to know that Lissa knew what the angel was feeling.

"I know what it's like to not be worthy or be something," Lissa looked down and gripped her dress tightly. "Look at me, I'm the sister of the Exalt, yet I don't even have the Brand on myself. I don't even display the formality of a princess that I am expected to be. I sometimes pull little pranks and people start to judge me as if I'm being unroyal and childish. I don't want to be defined by things that aren't in my control. I don't want to be known just as the sister of the Exalt or some royalty. That's because I'm expected to act in way I think is unrealistic to me. I just want to be myself and be appreciated for that. Is it that hard for people to accept others for who they are?"

"It can be, Lissa," the white angel said before sitting next to her. Lissa was still looking at the ground and grasping her dress. "People judge me because I'm not the smartest or say the most ridiculous things. I guess being a hero isn't all that great because of how you're supposed to allegedly act. So what if I'm not the brightest angel or if you don't have the Brand for your lineage, does that change the person who you are? I don't think so. We express ourselves because it's how we are. There isn't anything wrong with it. Yeah, it still makes me doubt about how people will ever take me seriously."

"I want to be taken seriously, too, more than just being a little girl. I have ambitions, too! I want to help others. I don't want to be a useless princess. I have what it takes to prove myself."

"That's also my goal," Pit smiled and laughed. "Once I truly show what I'm capable of, maybe, just maybe, those perceptions of us can be gone. They could finally see pass that and look at who we truly are."

The conversation immensely helped out the blonde girl. Never had she met someone who can relate to her on a personal level. Marianne is the closest to understanding her. The difference was that Marianne is her best friend while Pit was an angel she just met and has these unusual feelings she never had before. Pit also was grateful that there was someone else who felt the same for the angel. He never expected to connect so well to a human before. It was a big revelation to him since he had not talked to many humans in his world.

Palutena was caught off guard that Lissa and Pit were able to bond so well. She was happy to see her angel interact with others. The goddess was aware of the Cleric's feelings, so she tried her best to help her out but not get too involved in it. She also happened to gaze at Lucina who could not help but smile at the beautiful relationship that was developing between an angel and her aunt. Palutena could not help but adore the future princess's smile because it was so precious to her. Her heart began beating faster. Instinctively, she looked away and tried to focus on the view outside.

"Thank you for listening to me, Pit," Lissa said with water on her eyes. The angel did not see her eyes, but Lissa placed her head on his shoulder and smiled. "Thank you for being so understanding and helping me push myself to be greater than I was before."

"I would also say the same thing to you," he wrapped his hand around the Cleric. "You understand me better than a lot of people I know. I'm glad it's someone as sweet and fun as you."

"Hey, you're just like me as well!" She excitedly responded, which made Pit chuckle.

"Who knew we share lots of things together," they both had an emotional but wonderful time talking to each other. Their bond grew deeper from the conversation.

"Pit," Lissa said to her angel while still snuggling Pit's shoulder with her head. "Can you promise me something?"

"What is it? I'll always keep this promise that you have for me," he replied before resting his head on top of hers.

"Promise to never betray our bond. Promise to never hurt me."


	13. Her Dream

**I'm back. Sorry for another late update. Lots of personal stuff has happened but everything is better on my end! So here's the next chapter, a bit shorter than normal. Enjoy :)**

* * *

Chapter 13

"I promise Lissa," Pit held Lissa close while she snuggled up to his shoulder. He looked upward. "I will not hurt you. I will protect you from Hades. Once everything is over, well… I would like to-"

The angel noticed that the young Cleric fell soundly asleep. A snore could be heard from her. To him, Pit found it cute. It was rare for him to listen to humans sleep due to his limited experience in his world. He just wanted to hear more of the Cleric sleeping. Something so little captured his eyes that nothing else surrounding him mattered.

"She must've been really tired from that fight," he chuckled before a yawning. "I think… I'm getting tired too."

"You should probably get some rest if you're that exhausted," Palutena said before scooting away from her angel and unknowingly got closer to Lucina. "It would be terrible of me if I were to disrupt both of you needing a good rest."

"Well, that's true. I do need to some rest," he realized that he shouldn't lie down to nap because of Lissa. "I'm only worried that I'll wake her up."

"Oh, Pit, a girl is on your arms. You shouldn't wake her up while she's resting. It'll make her cranky. Plus, her back will ache if she's going to rest on the hard wooden seat," the goddess teased yet was trying to give Pit a signal about Lissa. She did not believe that her angel got the hint but it did not matter to her.

"You're right. I don't want to make her mad or anything," he nodded. Pit decided that he should place his head on the wall behind him and fall asleep. He yawned before closing his eyes. "Night, Lissa."

" _He also was knocked out just as quick as Lissa did,"_ Palutena witnessed something ordinary yet spectacular. It did not cross her mind for a moment until the blonde tugged around the angel's shoulder and arm. Unbeknownst to her, the goddess felt somewhat irritated. The way they two interacted and how comfortable they were towards each other. She had no clue as to why she felt dissonant.

* * *

The aura was awkwardly silent. It was only between her and the Ylissean princess. Dark Pit was already asleep when he entered the carriage. Lucina was staring out the window, gazing at the vast greens of the Ylisse. The mysterious mind of the princess caught the goddess' interest. Palutena wanted to break the weird stillness in the carriage.

"What are you thinking about, Lucina?"

She did not answer as if she did not hear it the first time. Whatever was on her mind, it must have been a vivid one. Palutena at first thought Lucina was ignoring her. However, it was not the princess's character to willfully ignore anyone who was trying to talk to her. It was not in her mind to bother the blue-haired woman. Another thing the emerald-haired woman realized was that Lucina was far off of reality and completely focused on her own mind.

"Lucina?"

No answer.

"Hey, Lucina!" Palutena raised her voice just slightly so Pit and Lissa would not abruptly awake.

Finally, the Ylissean princess snapped back to reality. She quickly turned to who was calling her name.

"Good thing you answered. For a moment there, I thought you were sleeping while your eyes were open."

"I did not believe that was possible," she tilted her head in confusion. "Normally people sleep with their eyes closed."

"That is true, Lucina," the goddess let out a little chuckle.

"What's so funny?"

"Nothing really," she smiled. "You just have some humor in you."

"There's something funny about what I just said?" It made the princess much more bewildered than before.

"Yes," Palutena moved close to the window across from Lucina. "I made a little exaggeration that you looked like you were sleeping with your eyes open because you didn't hear my calls. Your response showed that the joke went over your head with that innocent answer."

"I see," the Ylissean nodded. "I am well alert currently."

"Are you sure about that?" The goddess was now curious to know what the swordswoman was pondering. "It looked like you had so many thoughts running through your head."

"I will not deny that you were correct in your claim," her expression suddenly shifted and looked out the window. "There are many things on my mind that…"

"That what?"

"I'm… not sure if I should say this," Lucina then curled up and wrapped her arms around her legs. "I'm more comfortable when I speak of any issues I have with my mother and father."

"It's ok to talk about it," the goddess quietly walked across and sat next to the princess. "No one else will hear about this except me. You can talk about anything with me."

"Do you promise me that?" Lucina's eyes met with Palutena's green eyes. The goddess felt the same feeling whenever the blue-haired woman smiled.

"I promise," she closed her eyes and brightly smiled to conceal any transparent feelings.

There was this strange aura the Ylissean felt. She was comfortable around Lady Palutena despite hardly knowing her since the smash tournament. Something about the goddess's presence calmed Lucina whenever she was around. Who knows what this meant to her but the blue-haired woman could talk about anything to Palutena like she would with Robin or Chrom.

"I've been having this strange dream and it has been giving me great concern," she began.

"How so?"

* * *

"The dream is filled with dark clouds that seem endless. I saw myself running as if I'm getting away from something. Whatever that something was, it was going to severely harm me. The more I run away, the more it felt like I was going nowhere. I was trapped in a boundless smoke. All of a sudden, the clouds surrounding me became darker and more ominous. I was becoming frightened. I… felt the a cold shiver running down my body. I was attempting to fight off this monstrosity, so I wielded my Falchion. Nothing happened. I still was on guard to believing a presence was nearby. Without warning, a great and powerful flash of purple and red lightning was shot down behind me. In fear of my life, I tried to run and hide somewhere. As I kept running, the lightning kept raining down but never directly at me. The panicked fear engendered me to trip on my own leg. As I got up, the lightning appeared to have ceased. However, that was not the only thing I've noticed; the view around me was not of dark clouds but a foreign place I've never witnessed before. It looked like heaven the but opposite of how I would've pictured it. This heaven was devastated as if hell rampaged that wonderful place. I walked on this pathway. At the end of it, it led me to facing left. Then…" Lucina gulped while her body temperature suddenly rose.

"Are you okay?" Palutena was becoming gravely concerned for the swordswoman. She had her arm around Lucina and pulled her close. "You're warming up."

"It's quite alright," the Ylissean closed her eyes. "You have every right to know about what I've been concealing."

"But this dream of yours is making you feel uneasy. It's not natural for a mortal to feel like this," she disagreed. "I don't think I need to hear more."

"I'm telling you this because I trust you," hearing those words threw off the goddess. She was not expecting those words from her.

"If you still want to tell me this dream of yours, then I'll listen."

"Thank you," Lucina took several deep breaths before continuing on with her dream. "The vision I saw as I turned left at the end of the pathway were corpses of people. Each one was murdered in such gruesome ways that I cannot describe. I kept walking towards the center of this strange place. The skies above me were filled with a misty shadow that shrouded the light. Upon reaching the center, I fell to my knees. I could not believe what I was looking; the image was the cadavers of the people I knew: my little brother Morgan, Severa, Owain, Inigo, a-and even my mother and father. It was exactly how my horrifying future looked like. I began crying because everyone I knew had died. It reminded me too much of my future timeline. I couldn't hold back my grief."

"I… didn't know your future was that drastic."

"That's not even the end of the dream," water was covering Lucina's sapphire eyes. She had the willpower to withhold them from running down her face. "Looking back at it now, I saw more corpses but at the time I did not know who they were. I never met them before until now."

"You don't mean…"

"I saw the dead bodies of an old man, a young blonde girl with a wooden staff, Pit, Dark Pit, and… you."

Palutena was nearly petrified by the information she heard. Despite being a dream, it felt so real that she covered her chest with her arms. "This is so concerning because all of us were part of your dream."

"I am not finished with the dream," her face expressed it all.

"Enough, I don't want to hear any more of this dream," her voice became a bit commanding and louder. Behind them, Pit and Lissa snorted simultaneously before falling back to sleep. "Lucina, I'm becoming concerned that something is going to happen to you."

"In my dream, I saw two things when I gazed above the ground," the blue-haired woman was ready to deliver the final part of her dream. "The first thing I witnessed was a tremendous, magnificent figure far larger than Grima himself. He was mocking me and making cruel jokes about me and my family. I tried to brush it off, but I then glanced what was in front of me. It was a stone statue of myself. I was terrified yet bewildered with what was shown in front of me. How could I turn into stone? It was not possible. Not possible! I planned on touching the statue and inspecting it. That is until, something sharp struck through my body from behind. Afterward, I woke up."

Without any cues, Palutena embraced Lucina. The Ylissean became flustered; she was not expecting a divine being to do such a thing. It did not matter to her much since she appreciated the hug and felt strangely warm inside.

"You poor thing. Please don't scare me with that story ever again. I'm so glad you're alive and it wasn't real," she sounded genuinely worried but her words say otherwise.

"I'm perplexed by your response."

"I expected that answer, but I'm being honest. That dream really was disturbing," she released her hug. "It's eerily descriptive and could actually happen."

"It's a frightening thought. To make it worse, I've had this recurring dream countless times."

"For how long?"

"4 years ever since we were in the Smash tournament. That dream has been stuck with me from then on."

"Lucina…"

"That's why at times I'm afraid of what the future lies ahead," the daughter of the Exalt admitted. "I want to change what's written so it will not be a bad one for everyone I know. If I fail, then everything I did was futile, which is why I always want to change the future."

"Just so what was supposed to happen doesn't happen?"

"The future is not written," she emphasized her phrase. "I want to make sure that the future everyone has in this current timeline is a happy one."

"But I thought you lived in the future," the goddess' mind was clouded with unclear answers. "So shouldn't that mean you want to prevent that future from happening?"

"Yes, but as of the present, it has not happened and therefore not written. I do not want my beloved country and the people I love to live in a terrifying world where catastrophe is normal."

"I… think I understand what you're trying to say," she broke the hug and faced the Ylissean. "It's a very courageous and venerable thing to do. You were very hopeful that your goal would come to fruition. Such a trait would make a great addition to my army."

"You want me to join your army?" She tilted her head in confusion.

"Oh, no, no," Palutena giggled. "I was only messing around. Besides, I'm not sure how I would fit a mortal into Skyworld."

"Come again?"

"It's nothing," she nonchalantly responded before sitting on the other side. "You shouldn't worry about what I just said."

"Understood," Lucina nodded. At first she wanted to gaze out the window again, but the blue-haired woman felt the need to speak to the goddess again. "Um, Lady Palutena?"

"Need something?"

"I just want to say thank you for listening to me," her extraordinary smile radiated the room despite the emerald-haired woman being present to witness such grandeur. "This has been the one fewest occasions where someone truly listened to my concerns. It feels pleasant that my voice is being heard."

Luckily for her, Palutena did listen to Lucina while still being fascinated by her smile. Additionally, her own smile was sufficient for the Ylissean to feel appreciated. "Well, I am the goddess who wants to protect humanity, so of course I have to reach out to humans in need."

"If that's one of your responsibilities, then you've done a good job for me."

"Don't exaggerate," she pretended to feel sheepish by Lucina's praise. "I do what I must do."

Some time had passed since then. Lucina anticipated that she would only gaze at the window to admire the nature of Ylisse. However, she spent that time getting to know Palutena. She learned mostly about the temple Palutena ruled over and a bit of history of Skyworld. The swordswoman never expected Skyworld to have a rather similar experience to Ylisse. Lucina compared Skyworld and Ylisse in the wars and fights both worlds had to experience and endure. She never realized that the goddess was no stranger to fighting for her own world against the evil that lurked in her universe.

"I suppose we're not that much different from each other."

"If you mean defending the home we love, then yes, we're quite similar in that regard," Palutena agreed.

"I would like to visit Skyworld someday when this fight against Hades is over," her interest in the world of Kid Icarus was greater than expected.

"When he's dead, I'll make sure I get a nice private tour of my world and temple just for you."

"It would also be nice if father, mother, and Morgan were to accompany me for this tour."

Palutena, in her mind, experienced dissonance. She only planned on giving a special tour for the Ylissean. It was not a surprise that Lucina wanted her family to tag along. "Luckily, this private tour has unlimited spots for family and guests, so invite as many as you want."

"My family would suffice. Thank you for the offer," she bowed to the goddess.

"You don't need to bow to me," she chuckled.

"I apologize. It's a sign of respect when I address to a goddess like Naga."

"This Naga chick," Palutena furrowed her eyes as if she want inquiry of the divine being of Ylisse. "Tell me more about her."

Before Lucina could explain, something was moving from their peripheral vision. The two looked in the direction where they detected movement, only to see Pit and Lissa wake up from their nap.

"Well look who's finally up from their nap time," the goddess crossed her arms and smirked.

"Are we back yet?" The white angel stretched his arms out and let out a relieving yawn.

"We're still in this carriage," Palutena responded answered. "It's a long ride back you know."

"If it's that long, then I must've been knocked out for a while," his voice was a bit dry before cleaning his eyes from any debris. He felt something weighing on him.

"Too much moving," Lissa sat straight up, stretched her arms upward, and arched her back. A loud yawn was heard before the Cleric looked around. Her tired expression remained still. "Did something happen?"

"Other than you and me napping together," Pit wholeheartedly said.

"Did we?!" That information alerted her with her widened eyes. Her face then became red and hid from the angel. "Ohhhhh, I feel so embarrassed."

"Why are you embarrassed? Did I do something wrong while I was sleeping?"

"You weren't bothered that I snore and cling onto things really close?"

Hearing the latter of her sentence, the angel felt a warm tension inside him and sheepishly laughed. He scratched the back of his brown hair. "Not at all… at least I don't think so. You were pretty comfortable before you fell asleep on my shoulder."

"I'm so embarrassed," she sat at the opposite and covered her face.

"Don't be like that, Lissa," Pit sat next to the young blonde. "I didn't mind you resting on my shoulder. Besides, we both got pretty good sleep, so that our energy is restored!"

Lissa managed to lock her eyes to Pit. A small grin was seen from her, which gave the angel a warming response. "I suppose you're right. I do feel like my strength is back. When we finally head back, I need to do something."

"Like what?"

"Let's play a little game with some friends I know," her smile lay mystifying since Pit was unsure what the Cleric's plan was.

"I do enjoy playing games," he kept a positive mindset. "Hopefully your friends would enjoy our game, too."

"Oh, they will," Lissa had something on her mind yet Pit was unable to decipher her exact thought.

* * *

Outside the carriage, Chrom and Robin were having their own conversation while riding the whole group back to the capital. They were discussing about Ferox, the Smash world, and matters at Ylisstol that the Exalt has to take care of. It kept them occupied while trying not feel bored of riding on horseback.

"Robin," the Exalt spoke after a brief silence between the two.

"What's on your mind, Chrom?" The tactician was curious to know her husband's thoughts.

"Do you trust those 3?"

"Do you mean Pit, Dark Pit, and Lady Palutena?"

"Yeah," he nodded yet he felt a bit guilty for presenting a negative vibe to his wife. "Something about those three just gives me a bad feeling."

"I understand that you're suspicious of them since they are foreign to our world," she calmly responded. "Rest assured since our daughter and I have known them in the smash world long enough to know that they have no ill intent on Ylisse."

"That's part of it, but the goddess has been focusing too much on our daughter, wouldn't you say?" Hearing that question piqued the tactician's mind. She never noticed until her husband pointed it out, but Palutena indeed has been eyeing on Lucina for who knows why.

"I never expected you to pay attention that well," was her first response.

"That may be true that I tend to rush things aggressively," he admitted with a slight chuckle before becoming serious. "Regardless, I watch out for our daughter. I do not want anything to happen to her. The goddess has been worrying me because she seems to have her attention to Lucina."

"I also look out for dear Lucy," Robin asserted. "Rest assured that Lady Palutena means no harm to our daughter. She's a goddess in her world where she oversees humankind."

"That's only a mere title," he defended. "I still don't know what that goddess actually has done. Who knows if she has done something terrible that could put Lucina in danger?"

"Chrom," his wife emphasized his name to garner his attention. "If she really was someone who we don't think who she is, then why did she allow herself to assist us against this Hades guy? She also seemed concerned for her angel when he was hurt in the battle at Ferox. I believe those examples are sufficient enough to prove that Lady Palutena isn't planning on hurting Lucina."

The Exalt had to think over his wife's points. He thought she made valid points since he was a witness within those examples. The idea of his daughter getting hurt angered him. Anyone who ever made a wrong move to the princess would send Chrom to having a talk with him. If it was a divine being in that situation, then he had no problems of slaying one. After considering Robin's words, he slowly nodded his head, which was something his wife liked seeing.

"I'm not sure if you've planned this too, but I have no reason to doubt that you are right," his charming smile swayed Robin just a bit.

"I'm so glad that you thought this over," the tactician slightly giggled. "At least we agree on one thing: that we despise anyone who dares harm our daughter."

"That's right," Chrom felt a bit more exuberant that his worries were cleared away. "I'm glad you were able to explain everything to me about this. Makes me happy that I chose you to be my wife."

"Your flattery is always welcome for me," she laughed. "Being able to listen and consider everything given to you is a great quality of an Exalt. Luckily, you and I make a fantastic duo."

"When this fight is over, it will be the last time we ever have to endure a war for many years to come."

"I really hope it is," Robin sighed, sounding somewhat hopeful that this fight will be the last one for good. "It was already bad enough with Grima. Thankfully, we'll never have to deal with that monstrosity ever again."

"You can say that again," he smiled slightly. "Let's hurry back and-"

"Chrom…"

"What's wrong?"

His wife pointed at the direction they were riding. Her expression hinted to her husband that something was gravely wrong. Chrom gazed where the tactician was pointing. Smoke was visible not far from them. It was no ordinary type like a typical fire. This particular smog was filled with darkness, an ominous chill sent through their spines. Instinctively, Chrom and Robin galloped faster, prompting the two horses to suddenly pick up the pace.

"Hurry to the capital! …I got a really bad feeling about this."

Inside the carriage, all four were not expecting the abrupt change of velocity. It engendered them to fall to the floor.

"What's going on?" Lissa grew worried and unknowingly held Pit's hand.

"Why did Chrom and Robin pick up the pace that quickly?" The white angel wondered.

Lucina went to the window and shouted, "Mother! Father! What's going on?!"

No answer.

"Mother! Father!"

"Don't tell me something bad happened to them?" The Cleric panicked and started hyperventilating.

"It can't be."

"Then let's give these idiots what for," Dark Pit said as he wielded the blade of the Silver Bow.

"I can see mother on my side," the Ylissean unhappily said, which confused the group. "But…"

"Lucina, tell us what's wrong," the goddess asked.

"Our capital is under attack."


	14. The Underworld Invasion

Chapter 14

"Hurry!" Robin and Chrom rode to Ylisstol as fast as they could on their carriage.

"Mother! Father! Please arrive there as fast as you can!" Lucina shouted from the carriage. She was so worried about what might happen to her home.

"We're doing our best, Lucy dear!" her mother shouted while remaining focused on leading the carriage to the main entrance.

"Why is the capital being attacked? What's going on?" Lissa frantically panicked, trying to keep composure.

"Calm down, Lissa," Pit said, putting his hands on her shoulders.

"I can't calm down!" the Cleric shouted, closing her eyes and shaking her head. "My home is being attacked, people are going to die, and my best friend is in danger! I don't think I can calm down when I'm not there to protect them."

"I know…" the angel felt like he understood Lissa. "I've been through that before."

"Can you? Constant fights are why I hated living life like this."

"I've seen countless bodies of people, including the ones I cared for die in front of me," Pit never looked away from her. "It hurts to watch them countless times. Sometimes, I don't get it."

"I don't get it either," she felt a bit guilty for questioning his sympathy for her. "I shouldn't have said that you didn't know how I felt."

"I can't blame you for feeling that way."

"As soon as we make it to home, I'll- "

Robin and Chrom immediately halted after entering through the main gate and town square. The sudden stop engendered the rest in the carriage to stumble and fall over. Lissa fell over on Pit while Lucina caught Palutena before they fell, too.

"Hurry everyone!" Robin opened the carriage before running to her husband.

"Let's go," Pit said as he and Lissa stood up together. They ran out of the carriage.

Dark Pit followed suit without saying anything, just preparing his Silver weapon.

"Lady Palutena, are you okay?" Lucina asked.

"I'm fine," she answered before realizing that the Ylissean princess was holding her. She tried her best to hide the sensational feeling of her touch. "Your home is in danger. We'll protect it."

Once the group were outside, they were witnessing something beyond strange. They did not see any Risen terrorizing the capital. Instead, what was attacking Ylisstol were demonic monsters that ruthlessly kill and devour any living soul they encounter. Palutena, Pit, and Dark Pit were the most upset because they recognize these enemies.

"He's done it this time," Pit said with contempt.

"Is this Hades' doing?" Chrom inquired.

"Yeah."

"What are they doing?" Robin saw some strange glowing ball come out of one of the townspeople. "I'm seeing a bright sphere appear out of that person's body."

The three gasped in horror as they realized what was really happening.

"Those monsters are consuming people's souls!" Pit ran to the monster that Robin witnessed.

"Souls? What does that mean?" The Exalt was not sure what sort of sorcery those demons were pulling, but he was not letting his home become a wasteland. He unsheathed the Falchion and ran in the opposite direction. "I will not let these monsters destroy my country!"

"Split up! It'll help our chances in reducing casualties!" Robin commanded to the rest of the group.

* * *

They dispersed to dismantle the foreign army that invaded Ylisstol. The distance between Pit and the first enemy was close enough for him to see who it was. It was a Tempura Wizard who snacked on an innocent's soul. Pit became angry. He equipped a new weapon so far in this series. His arms were glowing with gleaming light. The white angel focused on generating a ball of light.

"Hey shrimp!" The wizard looked around to see who insulted him. He then noticed an angel who was running at him. The Tempura Wizard let out an intimidating roar, yet Pit was unfazed.

"Looks like you are a shrimp. Take this!" he leaped forward before hurling the orb of pure light at the wizard.

A direct hit! However, the light was not strong enough to make the monster dissipate forever. It temporarily stunned him, giving Pit an opportunity to strike. He equipped a giant rocky sword so heavy that he had to wield it with both arms. Pit leaped at the wizard and delivered a mighty diagonal slash. Despite dealing a strong blow, the wizard only fell to the ground before furiously getting up. It screeched to make the angel extremely uncomfortable. Pit still was not affected by the enemy's loud noise. The crispy wizard casted a spell, but he evaded the magic easily. However, the spell looked too obvious to even get hit by it. Pit, at first, was confused why that was the case. Then he realized, someone might be nearby. He quickly turned back to see Lissa running to her angel.

"Lissa! Look out for that spell! Don't get hit by it!"

Her young reaction played a big role in this situation because she barely dodged the spell. The misty fog then contacted the ground and dissipated. Because she barely escaped danger, the Cleric lost her balance and landed on the ground. Pit immediately ran to her side.

"You okay?" he said to her.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Lissa responded.

Both got up and prepared themselves in a battle stance to fight against the Tempura Wizard.

"By the way, what was that weird magic just now?" Lissa asked.

"That spell, if you get hit by it, will turn you into a fried shrimp," Pit deadpanned.

"Wait… are you serious?" she could not help but snicker at such a silly thing.

"I know it sounds silly, but that's not all of it," he continued. "If you end up getting hit by the spell, then the wizard will eat you alive."

"I don't want to be eaten alive," she gulped out of sudden fear, tightly gripping her staff and bringing it close to her.

"We won't," Pit optimistically said, holding the iron ore as tightly as he could. "All we have to do is avoid his attacks and get closer to it. Once we do, go all out!"

"I'm ready when you are," she brought out Pit's bow for this fight.

"First, let's run to each other," the Tempura Wizard then went on a berserk and threw out many of the same spells to turn Pit and Lissa into shrimps. Pit startled, "Woah! Split up and attack from different sides!"

"Um, ok!" Lissa cooperated as she ran to the left side of the wizard while Pit ran to the opposite side.

With this strategy, the enemy was a bit confused as who to target. It ended up becoming much more infuriated. The wizard screeched its loudest that it could. While the angel was not affected, Lissa fell to her knees and covered her ears. She could not bear the sound of the high-pitch scream. Lissa tried so hard to completely shut off the sound but to no avail.

"Lissa!" Pit dodged a few transformation spells before immediately running to his lady.

Knowing that the angel was running to help, the Tempura Wizard conjured up a blazing fire spell. It focused intently on striking both simultaneously.

Pit had to rush as quickly as he could to save Lissa from meeting her fate. He thought it was going to be alright until the wizard threw the fireball at the young blonde. An adrenaline pulsated throughout his body. He wanted to protect Lissa; he was not sure what he would do if he failed to keep that promise. The distance between them was getting closer along with the approaching burning sphere.

"Lissa!" Pit yelled as he was just several steps away from her. _"I made a promise to you to never hurt you. I cannot break that promise… no, not ever. You're… special to me."_

Just when the moment looked bleak, the white angel held his sword close to his chest, leaped in front of her, and blocked the attack. The impact of the collision sent Pit behind Lissa. The sister of the Exalt saw that Pit acted as a shield and took the hit instead of her. She could not believe that had just occurred: someone protected her to save her life. Lissa looked around to find Pit and saw he was behind her, not being able to get up.

"Pit!" she quickly got up and ran to his side.

Meanwhile the Tempura Wizard laughed uncontrollably that an angel protected a human.

"You… why did you protect me?" she felt a surge of emotions, water nearly running down her face. "It was meant for me, yet you threw yourself for me."

"If I didn't," Pit sounded a bit hoarse but still showed a smile to Lissa. "How was I going to forgive myself if I can't keep the promise, I just made to you?"

Lissa gasped and expressed some guilt, "I… don't know how to thank you, Pit."

"We're not done yet against that wizard," he struggled a bit to stand on his feet.

"Don't push yourself too hard," she grabbed Pit's right shoulder to help him.

"Don't sweat it," his optimism remained within his spirits. "I've dealt with worse. This is hardly a scratch."

"Don't scare me like that," Lissa pouted before sighing.

"Would you rather be fried shrimp?"

"Absolutely not!" She then turned to face the Tempura Wizard who was still surprisingly laughing at the them. With a determined expression, she prepared to fire a blue light arrow. "Now let's fry _this_ shrimp."

"I wonder what kind of sauce I should add onto it?" Pit's confidence still brimming as he changed to his First Blade.

"Something sweet like BBQ," she closed her eyes and salivated at the thought of the delectable seafood.

"First one to beat the wizard gets to eat shrimp!" Pit swiftly ran past Lissa, which flustered her.

"Hey! No fair!" the Cleric chased after Pit.

Lissa shot an arrow without Pit noticing, hitting the enemy on the arm. The wizard realized that his plan failed and threw a fit. It had cast and threw out numerous transformation spells. Pit and Lissa were able to evade every single one that were within their space. Pit fired bullets while Lissa shot arrows to deal damage to the enemy. The Tempura Wizard became so furious that it tried to summon more spells and throw them at its enemies. However, the amount of its tantrum engendered it to feel extremely weary.

"An opening!" Pit yelled as he leaped towards the wizard, ready to deliver the killing blow.

"Not if I have to say anything about it!" Lissa retaliated by focusing on aiming the arrow at the monster's head. "I can taste the victory."

"Sorry, but that win belongs to me!" he swung his weapon with his might and delivered the strike.

Simultaneously, the blue arrow struck the wizard's head. The strength of the combined attack was enough for the Tempura Wizard to be defeated. Its body slowly decaying into nothingness. After the enemy evaporated, the roaming soul of its victim went back to its host. The person had fallen victim was someone Lissa recognized.

"Nice shot, Lissa," he praised her archery, trying to give her a high five.

However, something was off about her. She looked stunned at who the victim was.

"What's wrong, Lissa?"

"Maribelle!" Lissa ran to her friend's side as she was slowly opening her eyes. "Please wake up! Please, please, please wake up."

"Darling," she grunted, slowly getting up to sitting position. Maribelle placed her right hand on her forehead. "What happened to me? All I remember was running away and suddenly, my world turned black."

"It's a lot to explain," Lissa explained. "These monsters don't look like they're from here. For now, we just have to fight them and save our capital."

"I believe you, darling," she grabbed her staff and looked at the horror she was witnessing. "But how strong are those monsters?"

"They're from a world where I come from," Pit answered. "A world of the dead. They are not enemies to be taken lightly. If not careful, they all can eat your soul."

"Disgusting," she felt repulsed by what she heard. "No wonder why everything disappeared in an instant."

"Yeah," the cleric was not glad to witness such a scary event.

She reached out her hand to Maribelle who graciously accepted it. The troubadour became stunned to see a young-looking man with wings on his back.

"Oh, I forgot you never met an angel before," he nervously scratched the back of his brown hair. "The name's Pit."

"It's nice to meet you, Pit," Maribelle introduced herself. "I'm Maribelle, Lissa's best friend."

"I didn't know you two were best friends."

"I probably should've said something, but you know… we just knew each other and all," Lissa shyly chuckled.

"Is he like your boyfriend that you never told me, darling?" Maribelle asked with a slight smirk on her face.

"B-b-b-boyfriend?!" Lissa became intensely flustered and pouted. "We just met, Maribelle! We haven't reached that phase yet!"

"Are you saying you want to?"

"Stop!" she shouted and slammed her fists onto her sides. "We have to save our home, not teasing me whether Pit is my boyfriend or not!"

"Say whatever you say, darling," Maribelle teased. "I know a spark when I see one."

Lissa said nothing and crossed her arms. Pit, on the other hand, felt his body tense a bit. While he had an important mission to clear, this was something else on the back of his head. The three continued to fight the invading Underworld Army.

* * *

Running to the castle, Chrom and Robin were not stopping for anything. He swung the Falchion with all his might against Shootflies, Fire Wyrms, and Clubberskulls. Each strike was mighty enough for every monster he attacked to be severely wounded. Robin was right behind her husband, shooting many fire, wind, and electric spells at the ones Chrom missed.

"Almost at the castle," the Exalt said, furiously striking his sword harder each time.

"I have a bad feeling, hun," the tactician added while focusing on her surroundings.

"Same here Just hope everything is ok."

The couple finally reached the main gate. However, the guards were occupied fighting against Mega Mussels. The knights struggled to find the kill against them. Because of this, the clammy monsters began to laugh and mock them. They floated way above the guards and enjoyed themselves as they could not reach the monsters. Their laughter caused their pearls to be exposed.

"Robin, give me a lift!"

She summoned the wind spell, Excalibur, right below Chrom. The strong gale swirled its might, causing the Exalt to be sent upwards while maintaining a forward momentum. He prepared the Falchion, waiting for the right moment to slash all the pearls at once. Neither of the two monsters noticed Chrom was closing in on them. The moment was right, and he struck one of the Mega Mussels and successfully destroyed all its pearls.

"Your majesty!" The young guard was relieved to see Chrom.

"Watch out! Behind you!" He warned his subject.

The other remaining monster was attempting to absorb the souls of the two. However, a series of green blades struck the Mega Mussels' pearls, thus killing it.

"Whew," Robin had to take a breather before grabbing Chrom's right shoulder to prevent her from collapsing. "You run too fast."

"At least you almost kept up. A bit of progress," the Exalt lifted the guard to his feet.

"Maybe this will help me with stealth training," she was still panting since Robin never ran that fast before.

"Anyways," Chrom shifted his focus to his watchmen. "What happened to the castle?"

"So many kinds of monsters invaded the castle," he reported. "Sir Frederick and the others are still inside trying to fight them off."

"Alright, Robin, we have to go inside and fight them off," he declared. "Call for backup and guard the castle to prevent anymore monsters from invading."

"Yes, your Majesty!"

"Robin," Chrom locked eyes to his wife with a determined look.

"Let's go," she had the same expression as her husband.

Inside the castle, they saw many different types of monsters: Clubberskulls, Handoras, Wave Anglers, Stackjaws, and Girins. Chrom and Robin had never seen these types of enemies before. However, because of their strange and foreign appearance, Chrom's men were struggling to take down any of them. The amount of strength that these beasts had individually superseded several of Chrom's warriors. The humans were outmatched. Many Clubberskulls were violently swinging their pumped-up arms at anything standing in their way. The brute force was so strong that it sent a few men flying and crashing into the hard-concrete castle walls.

A man in heavy blue armor stood strong and tried to take on two of the Clubberskulls on his own. He handled several Stackjaws and Girins. His fellow comrades were knocked down and could not get up. Frederick suffered damages on most of his armor and rough scratches on his face. He was not giving up. With the silver ax in hand, he patiently waited until he found the right opening. It did not take long before both Clubberskulls started swinging their arms and charged at Frederick. The Great Knight swiftly jumped to the side and ran behind them. His stance prepared him to lunge at both. A mighty strike from him dealt a great blow to the enemies. Desperate to protect the castle, Frederick continuously swung his ax in hopes to kill the Clubberskulls. He kept attacking until he had no more strength to exert.

"I-Impossible…"

Both monsters guarded themselves with their massive arms. To his shock, it only scratched them despite dealing so much strength.

"After all that, they're still standing…"

Suddenly, his face was struck by one of their purple arms. It did not stop there. The Clubberskulls were violently beating the hell out of Frederick. Their fists broke apart his steel armor then his physical body started taking the heavy blows. He coughed up blood. It looked like the end. That is until two giant electric orbs appeared out of nowhere and paralyzed the two. Frederick was confused at first until he saw a figure jump at them. The individual pierced his sword right where the eyes were. That was enough for the Clubberskulls to fall and perish.

"Frederick, are you ok?" Chrom reached out his hand to his comrade.

"Your Majesty," he slowly extended his arm to grab onto the Exalt's hand. "There are more around us."

Several more Clubberskulls, Handoras, Stackjaws, Girins, and Wave Anglers surrounded them and charged at them. However, a ring of fire covered Chrom and Frederick until the enemies got closer. Once they did, scorching flames came bursting from the sigil. The monsters began running around, trying to extinguish the flames on them. Something was different with this fire spell. It was not dissipating, and it was like devouring the fleshes of those enemies. Soon they all fell to the ground and let the flames scorch their remains.

Frederick was surprised to see such a spell be so effective against these aliens who he and his soldiers struggled to deal with initially. Chrom, on the other hand, knew what that was about. "Robin, did you-"

"I know," the tactician ran to her husband and commander's side.

He could tell that it took a toll on her body and mind. Her eyes were barely open, she sweated immensely, and coughed up blood. "Please be careful with that spell. You know how dangerous it can have on you if you use it."

"I used it to protect you two," she defended, breathing heavily before closing her eyes. "I know it concerned you, and I haven't used this much strength in a while.

"Still, I don't want you to-"

A menacing growl was heard, echoing from the castle. Chrom and Robin were certain that the monsters were taken care of. However, the bloodied hands of Handora was slowly approaching without their knowledge. It charged a purple beam as it stealthily floated behind the three heroes. As soon as Chrom, Robin, and Frederick noticed, they were too late to react to its attack. The last remaining Handora began to fire its beam.

But it never happened.

A powerful gust of wind appeared on the monster. The gales of the spell were strong enough to rip the two hands apart, effectively killing its lifeforce. Chrom and Frederick were relieved that they escaped out of death's door again.

"Great work, Robin," her husband said.

Robin looked at him with a confused look. "I didn't do that."

"If you didn't, then who did?"

"Mother! Father! I finally caught up to you guys," the voice of a young boy who was eager to see his parents again. "Good thing I arrived on time."

"Morgan!" The tactician quickly got up and hugged her son. "Oh, my sweet dear, Morgan. I was so worried where you were."

"Morgan!" Chrom stood up while aiding his friend to stand on his feet.

"Your Highness."

"Mother, I'm so glad to see you again. You were gone for so long," Morgan felt a bit sad because he missed his mom. "But you are kind of crushing me."

Robin released her hug and chuckled, "I'm sorry. I was happy to see you again. However, I came back because of-"

"It's about these strange creatures, isn't it?"

Her silence was all he needed to see to confirm the situation at hand.

"What are these creatures and why are they here?"

"I'll have to explain this as quickly as I can," Robin walked towards Frederick. "Morgan, can you heal Frederick? I'll explain as you tend to his wounds."

"I'll do my best."

* * *

Outside of the castle, right at the main square, there were Reapers striking their scythes at innocent civilians while stripping their souls from their bodies. The civilians were being evacuated to safety while the kingdom's knights fought off against the Reapers. A few of the townspeople wanted to protect their loved ones, so they decided to fight as well. Despite their best efforts, the Reapers proved to be much stronger than they anticipated.

"Just what are these monsters?" Cordelia blocked a strike of the scythe before performing a low swing kick to trip the enemy. She delivered a piercing blow to its head, killing it.

"I've never seen them before," Sumia blocked a swing from another Reaper, barely holding her ground. Before she lost her grip, her Pegasus pounded the Reaper with its hooves. It could not get up due to the sheer force that Sumia's Pegasus delivered.

"You ok, Sumia?"

She petted her trusted steed. "I am fine. Good girl."

Just when they were reducing their numbers, more Reapers appeared out of nowhere and surrounded the two knights. They were all ready to unleash a bloodlust and savor their flesh.

"You've got to be kidding me," Cordelia sighed.

Sumia gulped before tightly gripping her lance. "I'm not going to die like this."

All the sudden, pillars of golden light rained down from the sky. They were meticulously targeted at the Reapers that circled around the two Pegasus Knights. The light caused the enemies to be stunned. Cordelia and Sumia were bewildered by what had transpired. Next, a swordswoman ran as swift as the wind. She struck each surrounding Reaper with her Falchion. It was not strong enough to kill all of them.

"Sumia! Let us go!"

Both women prepared their lances and pierced each Reaper through its head. The third woman followed suit. They all escaped the situation easily.

"That was a close one," Cordelia sighed of relief.

"Whoever did that, we owe them a big thanks," Sumia checked to see her Pegasus's condition.

"You're welcome for the assistance," Lucina answered Cordelia's indirect token of appreciation.

"L-Lucina?" The red-haired woman was shocked to see the Exalt's daughter. "Is that you?"

"Oh, my Naga, Lucina!" Sumia ran to the Ylissean princess and gave her a surprising hug. "It's been so long since we've seen you!"

"It's good to see you as well," Lucina felt a bit sheepish.

"Thank you for saving us, Your Highness," Cordelia bowed to the swordswoman.

"Thank you, but I wasn't the only one who came to your aid."

"She was aided by me," a voice that neither Sumia nor Cordelia recognized. Palutena walked closer to the ladies. "The name is Palutena, the Goddess of Light."

"I don't think I've heard of that goddess here before," the red-haired woman tilted her head in confusion.

"Lady Palutena also took part in the fighting tournament that mother and I were invited to," Lucina cleared the confusion.

"Well, that explains it. I am Cordelia. Nice to meet you."

"And I'm Sumia!" She released her hug, which Palutena, without her realizing, was bit relieved that she did that. Sumia bowed to the goddess. "It's an honor to meet a goddess."

"It's nice to meet you two lovely ladies," Palutena chuckled.

"Now that we've introduced to each other," Cordelia quickly cut to the point. "What's going on? Why are these monsters here?"

Then, there was a loud rumble. Sumia fell face down onto the ground, Cordelia stumbled before falling to the side, and Palutena immediately got a hold of Lucina when she fell. Neither of them knew what was transpiring. They did not know what was causing that. Soon, they turned to where the sound was located.

There stood a large knight wearing a red cape. Something felt different from this knight, especially for Palutena. She immediately knew who this unknown enemy was. The knight had this dark purple aura radiating from its body along with its purple eyes instead of green. Its horns were long and nearly passed the knight's massive arms.

"What the hell is that monstrosity?" Cordelia said.

"Could it be? But you were free from the curse? How did he…"

"Lady Palutena?"


End file.
